Skip to main content

Fear Not

Here are some very familiar parts of the Christmas story...what is the common thread?
Luke 1:12-13  
12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.
13 But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.

Luke 1:26,30  
26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,...
30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.


Matthew 1:20 (NIV)
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Luke 2:8-10 (NIV)
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.


It's entirely understandable that these various people...Zechariah, Mary, Joseph and the Shepherds...all of them had to face their fears.  Each of them were "afraid" because what they saw or heard was surprising and beyond their comprehension.  When we face things that are "out of our control", there is a certain sense of apprehension, even fear.

What is it about fear that can control our lives?  What is it about fear that enters into Advent?
I know people who "dread" Christmas.  They feel overwhelmed by the "things" to do.  They obsess about the gifts that need to be given, or even in one case, the ones they will receive.  They get crabby with the many things they "have to" do.  Instead of entering the Christmas season, Advent, with a sense of celebration they enter it with apprehension, even fear, and can't wait for it to get over.   Let me share a thought later on Advent, but first...

Fear is an aspect of life that all of us have to deal with. We fear what we cannot control.  Our fears speak loudly into our minds...so loud that it is all that dominates our thoughts and emotions.  What is it that causes us to create in our minds the worse case scenario?  Why think the fearful?  Is it because we can't control everything around us and it's not so easy to trust and turn things back over to God.
The answer to our fears is "trust".  "Lord, I trust you" is a prayer I pray a lot...because there is a lot of life to turn over.  The alternative is to live in fear...to have a mind filled with thoughts that can only be described as lies from the enemy.  Jesus told us that when we knew the truth, the truth would set us free.  In other words, we don't need to be controlled by, captivated by our fears.  Did you notice I didn't say we don't have to have fears?  It's not a matter that we fear.  All of us go through things that leave us fearing.  It's more that we face them with a sense of trust and leave them in God's control, while dealing with them in every way we can.

Now as to Advent, look again at the readings.
Mary responded by saying:   
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her. [Luke 1:38]
Joseph: "When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife." [Matthew 1:24]
The Shepherds:  "...the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." [Luke 2:15 ]

They each said, "Lord, I believe you...I trust you."
We cannot control all of life.  There will be fears around us day in and day out.  Yet we can choose to say "Lord I trust you" and learn to conquer those fears with faith.
Isaiah 35:3-4, 10 (NIV)
3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, ... he will come to save you...10 and the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.


Peace

Comments

Chris said…
Thanks, Pop. I translated this into a kids' devotional for the boys as they ate their cinnamon raisin toast. Good stuff.
Wayne said…
Elliott,
Good post. Made me think and reflect. I especially recall a theme of Grant Mullen's teachings: "When trust is lost, fear moves in." That was insightful for me when I first heard Mullen teach on that and continue to reflect on how true it is. Blessings to you and Linda.
Paul said…
E, I wonder how many times scripture tells us not to fear, or not to be anxious. It is nice to hear about people that trusted. It reminds me that I too can conquer my own fears if I do the same things. The other thing that comes to mind about fear is: If God is the one who doesn't want us to fear, I wonder who does?
Miel said…
Thank you, Elliott! Insights much appreciated this time of year!

Popular posts from this blog

The difference between defending and explaining

The news of recent has focused the suffering of Christians in the middle east who have been martyred for their faith in Christ at the hands of Islamic Terrorists. Through the centuries many Christians have lost their lives as a result of their faith. For us, who live in America, there is little chance that we would have this happen here - but it's entirely possibly that terrorism will strike out at Christians sometime.  But, for many Christians in the western world - especially here in the U.S. - being a Christians who believes God's word there is a form of persecution that is defined by words like "ostracized", "passed over", "ridiculed", and more. What do we do in the face of opposition to faith? When the Apostle Peter writes to the early believers who are undergoing great pressure, even persecution for their faith in Jesus, he gives them this charge. 1 Peter 3:8-18 8  Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly lov

Wednesday, Day 25: Christmas Eve - God Loves Us (So We Can Relax)

For Kids: There’s a lot of things we have to do each day. Get up from our sleep, Get dressed, Eat Breakfast, Get ready for School, Listen to the teacher, play with friends, eat our lunch, and after it’s all done, go back home. There’s time to play, Then we eat our supper… And eventually we have to get ready for bed and go to sleep! And then we do it all over again the next day. Sometimes there’s a vacation - like right now - and we get more time to play, to have fun and not have to do work at school. Our parents are good at helping us know what time it is and what we need to do next – even when we don’t want to move on to the next thing.  God is also good at helping us know what time it is, and what is next.  He doesn’t shout at us, or yell, or even scream…he does it peacefully, quietly.  He wants us to understand that he does it, most of all, for us. Christmas can be quite busy and there’s lots of things going on at once…but let us not forg

The Tabernacle

The readings today are Exodus 36, 37, 38 I wanted to post some pictures of what these various parts of the Tabernacle looked like. It's not the easiest read in the world, but if you persevere through it, you can get a picture of all the different pieces that made up the tabernacle. It is a replica of the various parts of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness: First thing in the chapter listed is the outside of the tabernacle which consisted of curtains tied together and put on cross bars through loops. Next at the beginning of 37 is the table and lampstand: Also, the altar of incense: And, the altar for the burnt offering which was in the courtyard: Finally, the courtyard which made it all come together: Hope that helps with what it might have all looked like. Most importantly, this was their "place" of worship they were building. I hope you have a great day of worship. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad