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Monday, the 3rd Week of Advent: "Do Not Be Afraid"

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 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 this in Advent, but first...


Isaiah 11:1-3 (NIV)
1  A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2  The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD--
3  and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;



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. 

 Here there are two contrasting fears.  The prophecy of Isaiah is that a "shoot" - the Messiah - will come and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, AND, "he will delight in the fear of the Lord".  This "fear of the Lord" is not a quaking, dread; rather it is a deep sense of honor, a great commitment of living for God's purpose.

 When the angel comes to Joseph in Matthew 1 he says "don't be afraid", because Joseph is trying to figure out how to deal with the public disgrace that is his in Mary's pregnancy.  Here is a fear of what others think, what others will say.  To his credit Joseph hears God's word through the angel and he obeys it - i.e., he turns away from the fear of man to honor the fear of God.
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.   Fears are real, but God is willing to deliver us from them so that they don't control our hearts, minds, wills.

We see this clearly in the Advent story.  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.
 A Prayer:  "Lord God, Almighty and Everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day.  Preserve me with your mighty power, because I trust in you.  I give to you all my fears.  I trust in you.  Deliver me from my sins, and keep me from all adversity, for I trust in you.  In all that I do today, direct me to the fulfilling of your purposes, for I trust in you.  This I pray through Jesus Christ my Lord.  Amen"

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