Fear Not

Scriptures: Psalms 33:1-22, Matthew 10:29-31, 1 Peter 5:6-7

Fear Not: The Unseen

Trusting in the God who sees

It’s a command, and a comfort found throughout the Bible. Fear Not. These two small but powerful words seem to speak to an inclination that’s within each of us. If the call is to “fear not,” it must be because we tend toward fear. It makes sense. There are a lot of frightening things in our world. Things that deserve our legitimate attention and concern and action. 

But these fears don’t deserve our devotion. Because there is a difference.

There is recognizing our fear, and then there is being devoted to our fear. Living in devotion to our fear, or being ruled by our fear, is a miserable and exhausting existence. But God speaks into that misery, and graciously says, “fear not!” 

But how? How do we actually “fear not”? 

“We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.” (Psalm 33:20-21)

We turn our devotion toward the One who is our help and our shield. We cast our anxiety on the One who cares for us. We remember that not even the sparrows are outside of the Father’s care. Nothing happens in this world that God does not see. God sees the sparrows, and God sees you and me, and He’s not just watching from a distance. He sees. He cares. He is near. There is a lot that you and I can’t see. No matter how smart or important we think ourselves to be, what we can see of the world is just a tiny sliver that is hardly worth mentioning. None of us can see even one second into the future, and that can feel terrifying. 

But there is One who sees it all. The One who created it all and sustains it all. God sees it all, and He cares for you and me. We do not have to fear the unseen, because we can trust in the God who sees. 

What are you afraid of today? Maybe it’s one thing, or maybe it’s 100 things. Write them down. Which of these fears have you given your devotion to? 

As you read the Scriptures that follow, be encouraged that God sees you, and He cares for you! Give Him your devotion and Fear Not!

Scriptures: Isaiah 40:27-31, Psalms 118:1-29, Romans 5:8, John 1:1-5

Fear Not: The Future

Trusting in the God who is from everlasting to everlasting

Fear of the future, or more precisely, a fear of what the future holds – this might be one of the hardest fears for us to grapple with. Because the future holds the potential for the realization of all our other fears. The unknowns of the future are the perfect breeding grounds for fear to build upon fear. It is no wonder that throughout human history, we have become obsessed with trying to see into the future. We desperately want assurance of what’s to come and maybe even a way to manipulate the whole thing in our favor. 

Yet our best attempts are like chasing after the wind. Trying to know and control the future is a wearisome and soul-crushing business. Because we can’t. We aren’t supposed to. It is a burden we were never meant to bear. There is a better way.

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” (Isaiah 40:28)

Instead of fearing what the future holds, we can trust in the God who holds the future. Our God, who is from everlasting to everlasting. The One who has always been, and always will be.

But there’s more good news! Because our everlasting God has a never-ending love! His love endures forever. How do we know this to be true?

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). 

God has shown us the depth of His love through Jesus. Jesus, the one through whom all things were made. Jesus, who humbled Himself unto death, even death on a cross. He is our life and our light and our proof of God’s enduring love. 

What control or knowledge have you been trying to grasp onto out of fear? In prayer, ask God to help you surrender that fear, in exchange for trust in His everlasting goodness and love. 

Today as you read the Scriptures that follow, give thanks to our everlasting God because He is good! And His love endures forever. 

Scriptures: Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:9, Psalms 46:1-11, Matthew 28:16-20, Romans 8:35-39, Ephesians 3:16-19

Fear Not: Isolation

Trusting in the God who will not leave you or forsake you

The fear that we are alone in the world is enough to bring us to our knees. While at some points in life that fear might feel more philosophical, there are other times when it feels distinctly human. Your mother has passed. Your children are grown. Your best friend is in another state. The seat beside you on the couch is empty. Being alone is scary, and being lonely can be even scarier. 

It raises the question…Is there One who will never leave us?

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

God will never leave you nor forsake you. You are not alone. You have never been alone. But it is not just one verse in Deuteronomy on which we stake our hope; this promise is woven throughout the whole Bible!

“Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:20)

“…neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:39)

And this barely even scratches the surface. God has always wanted to be with His people. He walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden. When they had to leave the Garden, God made a promise that it would not always be so. He would make a way – a way to be with His people. And when the time was right, Jesus, born of Mary, became Immanuel, “God with us.” 

But how is Jesus with us today? Through His Spirit! It is a beautiful mystery. By His Spirit, Christ dwells in our hearts through faith. (Be sure to read Ephesians 3:16-19!) 

Today as you read the Scriptures that follow, if you are physically alone or emotionally lonely, look for the promises. God is with you. If you need comfort, if you need peace, if you need a listening ear, He is there. 

Scriptures: Lamentations 3:19-26, Psalms 40:1-13, Philippians 2:1-13

Fear Not: Loss

Trusting in the God who is always faithful

We work hard. We work hard to feed our families, to do our jobs well, to raise our children with good manners and good morals, to take care of our parents, to get just a little in savings, to plan for retirement knowing one day our bodies will start to slow down. We work hard for our neighbors, for our communities, for those who have needs we can help with. And one day, when the sun is bright, and the stock market is up, we might be tempted to pat ourselves on the back and think ‘I’ve got this!’

But we don’t “got this”, do we? We are all one rainy day, one phone call, one pandemic away from rock bottom. Do you know what has a rock bottom? A pit. 

We build houses, and skyscrapers, and businesses, and programs, and legacies, and lives, and yet the pit mocks us. It could all be gone in a second. How do we go on?

“… my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.” (Lamentations 3:20-22)

Verse 26 goes on to say “…it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

A pit is a pretty good place to sit quietly. It’s also terrible, and it’s heartbreaking, but as we sit in the quiet, we realize we are not forgotten. This is not the end. A hand reaches out. God is faithful in the midst of our loss.

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” (Psalm 40:1-2)

Our feet are once again on solid ground, but we never forget who pulled us up. We are changed. We are humbled. We go back to work, but we hold it all more loosely. As we go, hopefully, we look more like Jesus. We remember that it is God who works in us to fulfill His good purpose. None of it is ours. It never was.  

Today as you read, remember the faithfulness of God in your life. 

Scriptures: Isaiah 25:4-9, 1 Corinthians 15:21-26, 1 Corinthians 15:51-57, 1 John 4:7-18

Fear Not: Death

Trusting in the God who is the giver of life

If our fear of the future is where all of our other fears start, then it is fair to say that our fear of death is where they end. Death is our final fear. 

This fear doesn’t need any explanation. We all get it. 

So, let’s get on to the good news because there is lots of good news! Death may be our final fear, but death does not have the final word! As God does with all of our fears, He looks at death and says, Fear Not!

“On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. …” (Isaiah 25:7-8)

How can this be? How will death be swallowed up?

“For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)

In Christ! In Christ, we will be made alive. 

And, “… then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)

Because of Jesus, death is robbed of the fear it holds over us. There is no fear, there is no sting. There is only love and life, in Jesus. But again, we find ourselves asking…how can this be? How can our greatest fear just be gone? It goes like this…

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10)

The fear, the grip, the punishment – gone – because of love. Perfect love casts out all fear.

Today as you read, look for the love of God! Invite His love into every fearful place, and let His love and His life cast out every fear.