Why are you afraid?
Do you fear that your 401K will lose value?
Are you afraid you won’t have enough to retire?
Are you afraid of spiders?
Are you afraid your car is going to break down and you can’t afford to buy a new one?
Do you fear losing your job?
Are you afraid of heights?
Are you afraid what might happen as a result of health issues?
Are you afraid you won’t get an annual pay raise?
Are you afraid of snakes?
Are you afraid your house is going be destroyed or severely damaged in a hurricane or some other storm?
Are you afraid…….?
Why are you afraid? Is it the unknown that frightens you? Is it the known that you fear? Why then do we fear? As children of God, we are told not to be afraid.
The Bible has nearly 200 admonitions to not be afraid. Not just a couple times. Not a dozen times. 200 times we are instructed to “fear not.” I won’t list all 200, but I do want to highlight just a few.
God had told Abram that he would have many descendants. Abram started to worry because he and Sarai had no children. God reassures Abram that it would come to pass. Genesis 15:1
Abram sent Hagar and her son away with little else than a jug of water. She and her son wandered in the wilderness for a while and the water eventually ran out. Hagar was afraid that they were going to die. She placed her young son under a shrub in the shade and wept. God responded to her cry. Genesis 21:17
Joseph’s brothers were facing starvation and were afraid what might be done to them as a result of their actions against Joseph. But Joseph calmed their fears. Genesis 50:17-20
Let’s face it and be honest, we all have fear. We are, after all, human. At various times throughout our lives we fear one thing or another. Some fears seem rational but many are not. When the Israelites were afraid to enter into Canaan, Moses told them that their fear was unfounded. Deuteronomy 31:6-8
Israel was told not to fear. Joshua was told not to fear. Ruth was told not to fear. Samuel told David not to fear. Elijah told the widow not to fear. Elisha told Gehazi not to fear. David told Solomon not to fear. Jacob was told not to fear, Daniel was told not to fear. Jesus’ earthly father was told not to fear, Mary was told not to fear, Zacharias was told not to fear, the shepherds in the field were told not to fear, Peter was told not to fear, Paul was told not to fear. Do you see a pattern here? We are told not to fear.
In Luke, chapter 12:7 “But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.”
Matthew Chapter 14: 27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
Matthew Chapter 17:7 “And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.”
We are told time and time and time again not to be afraid. We have nothing to fear.
In the New Testament alone we are told nearly 30 times not to be afraid. So why are we afraid?
I think it the unknown that we fear. I also think it those things over which we feel we have no control that we are afraid. Just a quick reminder, it’s not about us. It is all about Him. We don’t have to have control, we need to know the One who has the control.
As believers in Christ, what do we have to fear? There is nothing that we need to fear. That doesn’t mean to act foolishly. This is not to say that you just pick up that snake that is in your yard and deposit it over the fence. That might be a foolish things to do. Having no fear doesn’t mean you pick up that black widow you found in your magnolia tree and put it in a jar. That would be a foolish thing to do. Having no fear doesn’t mean you can just walk across a busy street without looking both ways for oncoming traffic. That would be a foolish things to do.
Yes, we know that the Lord will protect us, but that does not mean be reckless. We still need to do the smart thing. Grab a shovel for that snake, grab a can of spray for that spider and look both ways before crossing any street.
Fear not means that through doing the right thing and living the right way and staying close to God and His word, we don’t need to fear what MIGHT happen. We must trust the Lord and know that He knows what is best, and when it is time to go home to be with Him, nothing will keep you earth-bound.
God has had this thing all planned out for a very long time. We have no reason to fear, when we rely fully on our Savior; when we put our lives in His hands.
The final ‘fear not’ came to the Apostle John while on the Isle of Patmos. During the Revelation of Jesus, John wrote these words…
Revelation Chapter 1:15-18
15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength.
17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
18 I [am] he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
What are you afraid of?
- ALAN MURPHY
