No Fear
I grew up with one of “those dads”, the kind who believe life should be lived. Not only did he play several instruments, run marathons, and go on backpacking trips that were less like trips and more like expeditions, he wanted the same for his kids. Skiing, camping, backpacking, mountain biking, road races-you name it, we did it. No fear.
One particular memory includes me standing at the top of a black diamond ski run. At 6 years old, I had never skied anything like this before and was a bit apprehensive. My dad’s introduction to skiing included going to the top of a black diamond on his first ski trip, so, of course, he told me, “You can ski anything. Just take your time”. And I did. My dad taught us many things: loyalty, honesty, faithfulness, hard work, and, especially, “do not fear”, anything at all.
The older I get the more I realize how biblical this commitment to “no fear” actually is. The Bible is full of commands not to fear. Psalm 27:1 addresses fear of man, “The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life-of whom shall I be afraid?” while Deuteronomy commands we “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified . . . for the Lord your God goes with you . . .”, and Isaiah reiterates, “. . . Do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid, for I myself will help you,’ declares the Lord”, your Redeemer . . . “ (41:13-14). Why so many references? It is human our human nature to fear. We fear others and failure, change and pain (personal or universal), especially pain we can’t control, but the Bible makes it clear that God’s purposes are carried out through ordinary people who live by faith, not by fear.
The Bible is teeming with examples of God’s people overcoming fear. Abraham feared he would never have a child of his own, Moses feared public speaking, and Mary and Joseph and the shepherd feared the angels sent to announce Jesus’ birth.
This begs the question: where would God’s people be if they had chosen fear over faith in all of these circumstances?
When God made his covenant with Abraham, he promised he would have to “number the stars” in order to number his offspring. Considering he and Sarah were well passed child-bearing age, he doubted, as we all would, but eventually believed an impossible promise saying, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. . . and all peoples on earth will be blesses through you”. At 75 years-old Abraham immediately took off in faith to the land God told him to go to. By Genesis 15, Abram questioned this promise saying, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless . . . “ (15:2) . . yet he “believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (15:6). Even after 25 years of waiting, Abraham continued to follow God’s commands and circumcised every male in his clan before he witnessed the birth of that long-awaited heir” . . . at the very time God had promised him “ (Genesis 21:2). Like Noah, Abraham faced moving to a hostile new land and seemingly impossible promises with faith instead of fear, leading to his fathering the people of God.
Over 1000 years later, God made a request that inspired fear in the heart of one unlikely hero. At this time, these very descendants of Abraham were enslaved in Egypt. God had strategically placed Moses in the house of the very pharaoh who had enslaved his people. After fleeing Egypt to live with his people, he lived in fear that the Egyptians would want him dead. His plan was to comfortably hide out in Midian with his new wife and her family. God’s plan was different. He wanted to use Moses to free his people from the slavery of those who raised him, and he wanted it to be spectacular. Moses had many reasons to fear. He feared his people “. . . will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’” (4:1). He also insisted he wasn’t the man for the job, explaining, “Oh my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue” (4:10). Despite his fear, Moses obeyed God, performing miracles such as turning his staff into a serpent, inflicting plagues on the Egyptians as punishment, and parting the Red Sea, allowing his people to reach freedom on dry land.
Time after time, judges and prophets faced fear and chose faith in order to carry out God’s elusive and perfect plan. Even in Christ’s birth, fear reared its ugly head. The angel appeared to both Joseph and Mary revealing this miraculous pregnancy that would be viewed as less than upright. While she had many questions and fear-after all, she was an unmarried teen-she answered the angel with “I am the Lord’s servant. Let everything you’ve said happen to me” (Luke 1:38). What a statement to make, especially before she had the assurance of Joseph’s devotion or the support of her family! The angels use the phrase “Do not be afraid” twice more, telling Joseph he would father God’s child, and instructing the shepherds and kings how to find Jesus, the one they were waiting for.
Let’s face it. Anxiety is a part of life. It is amazing how the smallest challenge can rend us paralyzed with fear. Then, there are truly painful events that we wouldn’t wish upon anyone. One thing is for sure: God uses fearful people in some daunting circumstances to accomplish his divine plan. May we walk through any fearful situations with confidence knowing that as Christ told his disciples, “And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
