Fear has been around as long as sin itself. When Adam sinned against God in the Garden of Eden, he ran and hid because he was "afraid" (Genesis 3:10). Whenever we are afraid, God doesn't want us to run from Him, but instead He wants us to run to Him. Did you know that the Bible has the phrase, "Don't be afraid" or "Fear not" 365 times? That's one "do not fear" phrase for every day of the year! "Don't be afraid" is God's most spoken command to us.
Fear is a natural consequence of living in a sinful world with sinful people. Bad things do happen. But no matter what your fear may be, whether it's germs or spiders or potential nuclear war, remember what God says: Don't be afraid. Here are some of my favorite verses to help me remember:
“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (2 Kings 6:16) Spoken when the prophet Elisha wanted his servant to know that God was on their side.
"But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” (Matthew 14:27) Spoken by Jesus when He walked on the water and His disciples were afraid of the unknown.
"Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." (Luke 12:7) Spoken by Jesus when He urged His disciples not to worry, but instead to trust His care.
And my personal favorite is this: "5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene,who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'” (Mark 16:5-7)
On that first Easter morning, those women had gone to the tomb expecting to find a dead body, instead they found an empty tomb. Do you realize what that means? We can truly live with no fear because NOTHING can conquer Jesus...not even death itself. He is our risen Savior and our risen Lord who is Lord over everything. Trust Him. Since He can take care of our eternal future by saving us from our sins through His death and resurrection, then He certainly can take care of our temporal future until He brings us to heaven. No fear...how? Trust Jesus, the Death-Conqueror.
