Luke 2:10,11 I have been meditating on the announcement by by the angels to the shepherds in the field outside of Bethlehem and want to share my thoughts with you on that over the next four weeks. Today we focus on “Fear Not!”.
I wonder why the shepherds were afraid when they saw the angel. What were they expecting, anticipating at that moment? How would I react if an angel just showed up?
Different reactions from Scripture:
Abraham and Lot – invited them to eat and stay
Gideon – had a discussion of his doubts
Zechariah was troubled and then fear fell on him
Mary was troubled but curious
The shepherds are filled with great fear!
So why are the first words the angel speaks in the NT: Fear Not? Some have said it occurs in the NT 365 times, but not in this form. Perhaps if you add all the different words like terrified etc. then ca 300 occurrences – but only once is necessary for it to be valid all time. In the NASB in this form: Fear not, do not fear, do not be afraid 127 times. Jesus even says in Matthew 10: 28,31: Do not fear. In John 14:27: Let not your heart be fearful; Luke 12:7 do not fear you are more valuable than sparrows; Luke 5:10: do not fear, from now on you will be fishers of men; so many accounts of do not fear!
Fear is a slave driver and master. In Romans 8 where fear is discussed, it states: “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!””
Romans 8:15 NASB2020 - song: no longer slaves to fear we are children of God!
The importance of fear in your life? What are you afraid of? How does fear rule you? There are all kinds of fears that we face on a day to day basis that can overpower us. Health, death, relationships, children, finances, Covid 19, politics, future in the church, the needs at home, comfort, peace. Things we prefer to keep and we know them out of the scope of fear. We retreat in what we know because we are afraid of what we do not know.
The answer to fear is our ability to trust God. Our faith is the difference!
We have no reason to fear when we are in the hands of Jesus!
Why no rear? Because He promises to be with us all the time! He will not fail us, he will help us, he will give us the kingdom, he will heal us, he cares for you, delivers us from evil, fills us with his Spirit, fills us with words when we need them. He loves us more than we can imagine!
I John 4:11, 18: “By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, we also are in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us.”
1 John 4:17-19 NASB2020
The opposite of fear is faith. That is how we conquer our fears. Knowing that God loves us and has called us to be his children is the security we need to move forward, through this life into the next. The way to do that is to repent of our fears as we encounter them. Ask God to fill you with his love and Spirit in each instance, and leave the worry to him. The echo throughout the centuries comes from the Angel to us: Do not Fear!