Do Not Fear

Do Not Fear

How easy is it to read the above statement? I guess for anyone older than about 5, it
would be pretty easy to read and understand those 3 monosyllabic words.

Think again though, how easy is it to read this statement and take it on board?

The Bible says 'Do not fear' or words to that effect around 366 times (God didn't
forget about leap years either..) so that's more than enough for every day of the
year!

We all experience fear in some sense every day of our lives. These can range from
fear of spiders to darkness to flying to rejection, illness and death.

The thing is, a lot of the time, fears are the blighters that overcome us.
It's OK to be fearful. God knew, and KNOWS that we're going to face fears, hence
his sprinklings of encouragement against the spirit of fear all the way through the
Bible. What's not OK is when we acknowledge our fears and refuse the rebuke them.
Thinking that it’s OK to not do the things that God has for you because you’re scared.

It’s not.

I’m not arguing that fear is a sin. In fact I don't believe that for a second. However,
I do believe that fear is a lie. It is a lie that can often stop us walking into our calling.
Each time God tells us to do something, and we don't do it, that’s when it becomes a
sin.

Many people have a fear of visiting doctors, not because of the actual physician
himself, but more about his knowledge, when a patient opens their mouth and
begins to explain their symptoms, the doctor can begin to investigate the cause
of these symptoms. A fear of doctors is more to do with a fear of diagnosis. A fear
that the oblivious mind is enlightened as to what is wrong. In combating the fears,
we could question what lies underneath this fear. More fear? Probably. Mostly
suppressed memories and emotions whose fear has become the scar.
In order to remove the thorn that has been imbedded into your foot that causes you
great aggravation, a further incision has to be made. Yes, for a while, it will cause
more pain and discomfort, but once the thorn has been removed, and the wound
has healed, the hurt from the thorn is gone, it ceases to exist.
The road is never easy, you first have to acknowledge that the thorn in your foot
shouldn't really be there in order for it to be removed. If ignored, the thorn starts to
be the cause of so much aggravation and discomfort and can prevent you from doing
so much.

The sin then, you could suppose, is to let the fear overcome you, to let the lies of
the enemy rule over the calling of God. ‘Do not fear’ in the Bible is often followed
by ‘For I am with you’ ( Isaiah 41:10, for example) The comforting voice of your
Heavenly Father gently whispering; ‘Come on child, don’t be scared, It’s OK, Daddy’s
here.’

Proverbs 27:1 says 'Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day

might bring' We fear the future, because we have so little idea about what is around
the corner, we do not know exactly how an order of events may pan out, or exactly
what we will be doing in a years time. We will ALWAYS have fears to overcome. We
will always have to go that place which is just that little bit further out of our comfort
zone that we might like in order to reach those goals.

Do not fear, do not worry.

I believe in a God who knows me better than I know myself and loves me, in spite of
that. I believe in a God who is ALWAYS faithful to me, no matter how many times
I muck up, or deal with things in my life in the wrong way. I believe in a God who
longs for me to trust that He knows what He’s doing, and will often shock me by
doing things in my life that I can’t even begin to imagine. I believe in a God who is
kind, compassionate and will always come to me, day and night, in my sorrow and
joy. And most importantly, I believe in a God who did not give us a spirit of fear and
timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

Shockingly, this God who I believe in, believes in us too!