Fear Not!

Jesus often told His disciples, “Fear not!” because He knows how easy it is for fear and anxiety to overcome men’s hearts. Thankfully God doesn’t turn away from us when we fear. Instead, He encourages us and reminds us why we can be unafraid. Personally I need everyone of those reminders.

Fear has been an issue in every age, but these days it seems more pervasive. For some, the loss of a loved one shakes our sense of security and fear rides in with grief as we try to make sense of our altered world. For others, the chaos on earth triggers fear that the world will no longer be safe for us or those we love. And for still others, some personal or regional tragedy has entered our life, and we struggle to not be afraid. How do we move forward when fear grasps at our hearts?

Personal Story

Thanksgiving week, one of my nephews drove six hours to spend the day with aunts and cousins here. Late in the afternoon, he shared a story from days earlier when he and his daughter took a mini-vacation out west.

The daughter, who has a great sense of adventure, wanted to see a particular site some distance from their hotel. The road to their destination was bordered by vertical walls of stone and dirt, cliffs with no nets to catch any rocks that might fall onto the road.

My nephew, seeing the cliffs as he drove, found fear knocking at his heart. He knew rocks could tumble at any moment, and there was no place for him and his daughter to escape.

Thankfully, the drive to the site was uneventful, but the sun set before time to return to the hotel. The only way back was to go the way they had come, and he feared driving that path in the dark.

But my nephew discovered the return trip held no fear, because he could no longer see the danger on either side of the road. He only saw the path in front of him. The car’s light beams clearly showed the way to drive while darkness hid the dangers nearby.

Application

My nephew’s story exemplifies the way we can all conquer fear. Scripture tells us, in Hebrews 12:1-2,

“let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (CSB).

God has placed us here for a time, and He has a purpose for each of us. The enemy will fight us, hoping to surround us with issues that cause us to be afraid. But if we keep our eyes on Jesus, His light not only guides us, but His glory protects us from being intimidated by potential dangers around us.

Example

When Peter and the other disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee one stormy night, Jesus came walking to them on the water. Quite naturally, the disciples cried out in fear. Jesus spoke to them to encourage them and told them not to be afraid (Matthew 14:22-27).

Peter immediately said to Jesus, “Lord, if it is you…command me to come to you on the water.” (Matthew 14:28, ESV).

Most of us know what happened next. Jesus told Peter to come. Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water towards Jesus. But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!  (Matthew 14:30, ESV).

Faith Over Fear

If we’re able to keep our eyes on Jesus and not look at the storms around us, we can fight fear successfully. What we look at affects how our minds see the world. And what we think affects our emotions and our heart.

Fear is a tool of the enemy to keep us from walking successfully toward the One Who is Life. Jesus said the enemy comes only to steal and kill and destroy, but Jesus Himself came so we may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10, ESV).

Our Creator eagerly desires us to know the truth of Who He is and who we are as His children. He is the all-powerful One, the King of kings, and the Lord of Hosts. He is good, and He is Sovereign. And if we choose Life, we are His forever.

God tells us not to fear because He is in control of and knows the end of the story. He knows His Son Jesus came as a suffering servant to die for our sin. But He also knows Jesus will return, at the appointed time, as conquering King and Judge over all. When we walk in faith, believing these truths, fear is pushed away.

Conquering Fear

Life on this earth is a constant battle between good and evil. Are we bold enough to love good and hate evil daily? Can we focus on the Lord Himself and let His glory blind our eyes to the things of the world that cause us to fear?

I used to wonder why Daniel felt the need to go to his room and kneel down to pray three times a day (Daniel 6:10, NKJV). But with the ramping up of evil in our world and chaos abounding, I find three times a day is insufficient. I used to wonder how it was possible to pray without ceasing (I Thessalonians 5:17, NKJV) as Paul wrote. But now I know praying without ceasing is like breathing. It’s imperative for survival.

Prayer is communication with our Creator, the One in Whom we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28, NKJV). Faith over fear happens when we walk in communion with our Source of Life moment by moment.

One way we improve our ability to walk in constant communication with our Lord is to spend time with Him in the Bible. Reading His words to us allows them to transform our thinking which calms our heart.

As Paul wrote to Timothy, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV). Keeping His words in our minds and hearts allows God’s Holy Spirit to help us focus on Jesus and run fearlessly the race to which God has called us.

Fear Not!

Today I listened as friends in Israel shared their struggle with fear in the face of a cruel enemy. One of them admitted it’s easy to say we have enough faith to handle situations when we’re living in safety. But God doesn’t leave us in calm waters our whole lives on this earth. He allows storms to come our way, knowing the stormy times are when our knowledge of God is strengthened and our faith is put on trial for us and the world to see.

Sadly I fear some in my generation and many in our society grew up believing life on this earth was for our ease and enjoyment. We believed it was enough to go to church, pray at times, read the Bible some, and behave well in society. And after that life was to be easy and fun.

But if we read the Bible, study it, and understand it, we’ll find Jesus calls us to follow Him fully. And He never promised following Him would be easy. In fact He tells us, In the world you will have tribulation (John 16:33, NKJV).

Thankfully, Jesus didn’t stop with the bad news. He went on to tell us, in spite of this world’s troubles, we can be of good cheer, because He has overcome the world (John 16:33, NKJV).

In the Old Testament there are many places where God told His people to not be afraid. In the New Testament we read when Jesus walked on the earth, He frequently told His disciples not to fear. And throughout Scripture, angel messengers sent from God came with the same message. Much in our world tries to push fear into our hearts. Let’s listen instead to the One Who made us, the One Who tells us, over and over, Fear not!

A Blessing

With Christmas coming soon, I want to leave all of us with a reminder of the words given to the shepherds in the field those many years ago.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:10-11, NKJV

What the angels said two thousand years ago still applies today. Our Savior has come. May we keep our eyes on Jesus. And fear not.

(Photos: Taken by Carolyn Thigpen, August 26, 2018, Beit Sahur, Palestine)