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Do not Fear
by A.J. Wilson

“And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." Matthew 14:26-27

“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Luke 12:7

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

A late night call, a visit to the doctor/hospital, layoffs, late notices, bad decisions . . .a new baby, a new job/position, getting a new home loan. . . the list is endless of things that cause us to fear and become troubled/afraid.  We fear not being “enough”, having “enough”, being able to, or knowing enough to handle our problems.  Some stretches of our lives are filled with worry, and it can lead to despair, depression, and hopelessness.  It also can be a disability because we cease to function as we are able.  Satan has really become an expert at pulling our strings of worry and fear; and he does it because our fears often cause us to lose sight of Jesus and His abilities.

I found the phrases “Fear not,” “Do not fear,” ”Do not be afraid,” and similar phrases, in a quick search of an online concordance, 118 times in the Bible (NKJV).  We have a message from God to remember his faithfulness.  We forget because our fear disorients us and has a way of focusing our attention only on the situation causing our fear.  Let’s look at another way of looking at our fears, and perhaps remove one of Satan’s best tools.

Illnesses cause us to focus on our bodies and the future; however who knows both our bodies and the future better than God?  “New” situations make us focus on the things we do not know; but God is omniscient (knows all).   Disasters and late notices cause us to focus on a lack of resources, but again God “owns the cattle on a thousand hills” (Ps. 50:10).  We all know these things, but we forget them when fear enters the picture.  Our task should be to turn to the Lord at the first glimpse of fear or uncertainty. 

A great resource, where many of these thoughts came from, is, “Fearless” a book by Max Lucado.  The Faithful Warriors have a copy, after I’m done!

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