FEAR NOT

Do not fear! We are told this 365 times in the Bible, once for every day of the year. Why do you suppose that is? God always reveals to us what is important for us and what is essential for living vital and abundant lives. We can presume this phrase is used so frequently because it’s an attitude of our heart and our mind that prevails over our lives. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like fear. It seems more like anxiety or stress or worry or a certain preoccupation. It manifests itself when we become impatient with others, ourselves, or even God. But what it really is, if we take off the final mask, is fear. Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of feeling inadequate and useless. Fear that God’s promises aren’t really true, fear of being alone.

Whatever it is, God’s response is always, “Do not fear.” Do not fear, I am with you. Do not fear, I will never leave you. Do not fear, my grace is sufficient for all your needs. Do not fear, all things work out for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. “Do not fear” always requires trust. We can trust ourselves, someone else, in accomplishments or in things and accumulations. But ultimately “do not fear” means trusting God for what he says is true, for what he has done, for what he is doing now that we cannot see, and for how he will ultimately prevail over every circumstance in our lives.

Consider Isaiah 43:1–3: ” but now, this is what the Lord says – he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” Maybe you’re one who finds it easy to memorize entire passages like this one. Often, for me, I need to break this down into smaller bits that I can grasp. I connect these like train cars, connected together to the Power of the engine that can pull the true weight of the message I need to carry from my head to my heart. The “cars” in this passage are found in the operative words “I have redeemed you,” “I have summoned you by name. These are connected with “you are mine,” and “I will be with you.” The “engine” in this analogy is, of course, God’s faithfulness, unending love, and amazing grace. So I repeat these phrases over and over in my mind and on my lips:

I have redeemed you, I have summoned you by name, you are mine. I will be with you.

Repeat this several times out loud. Shut out the rest of the world for even a minute or two. Let truth replace lies. As you keep meditating on these fundamental truths, can you sense the power, not of repeated chants, but the power of the one who first spoke them into being when he created you? We can continue to think about problems or meditate on the solutions to our cares. It’s a choice we make hundreds of times a day, to focus on our problems or to turn our eyes upon Jesus. Whatever the problems that beset us we can say to ourselves “do not fear” because we who believe in Jesus belong to the king of kings, to the Lord God Almighty. HE NEVER FAILS HIS OWN!
Until next time,
-Pat-