Fear Not

How many times in the Bible do we read the words (or something like them), "Fear not!"? God assured Abram "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great" (Gen 15:1) because Abram was afraid he would die childless. He told Isaac, "I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for My servant Abraham's sake" (Gen 26:24) because the Philistines kept kicking Isaac out of his encampments. After the awesome display of Exodus 20 when God shows up on the doorstep of all Israel and expounds to them His Ten Commandments, the people were terrified. Moses told them, "Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of Him may be before you, that you may not sin" (Exo 20:20). Michael, the archangel, told Daniel, "Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words" (Dan 10:12) because Daniel had seen a troubling vision and was praying for three weeks. Jesus told His disciples, "Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows" (Matt 10:31) when they were warned that they would be opposed by the world. He told His disciples, "Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on ... Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:22-32). Paul comforted Timothy when he said, "God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control" (2 Tim 1:7). When John the Apostle saw his vision of Christ while on the Isle of Patmos, he "fell at His feet as though dead", so Christ told him, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades" (Rev 1:17-18).

Fear not. A very common message in Scripture. Typically the comfort is based directly on the character of God. He is able. He can handle it. He cares. He knows. He loves you more than you realize. And we can be so fearful, can't we? We're afraid of loss of job or home, family or friends, reputation or things, health or happiness. We worry about our marriages and our churches and our communities and our country. We have lots of fears, some irrational and many, many much more reasonable. So God wants to tell us, "Fear not." And He tells us not to fear because He is at work and can handle whatever comes our way. So we read

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me (Psa 23:4).

For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I am the one who helps you" (Isa 41:13).

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God (Phil 4:6).

"The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?" (Heb 13:6).

And that's just a mere smattering. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Rom 8:31). That's the idea. What do you have to fear if God is on your side? What can go wrong if "we know that God causes all things to work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to His purpose" (Rom 8:28)?

There is an answer to my question. What have we to fear? Jesus said, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul," going right along with all these comforting passages about not fearing, but Jesus didn't stop there. "Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt 10:28). Oh, see? There is something to fear: God. The psalmist assures us, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" (Psa 111:10). Jehoshaphat warned his judges, "Let the fear of the LORD be upon you" (2 Chron 19:7). David said that the wicked were wicked because "There is no fear of God before his eyes" (Psa 36:1) and Paul affirmed that natural man suffered from the same problem (Rom 3:18).

Fear for this life is not for Christians. We have a better God than that. He is Sovereign, Omniscient, Omnipotent. He loves us and cares for us and will produce the best. Fear of God, on the other hand, is indispensable for Christians. Without that, you're going to be in a bad place. That fear is a good thing. A really good thing.