Faith Bible Studies Bible Studies: Do Not Be Afraid | Bible Studies: Do Not Be Afraid |
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What is, by far, God’s most frequent command? The actual answer is “Do not be afraid.” Here is a small sampling (italics added) of its over three hundred occurrences in Scripture. After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” (Genesis 15:1)God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “what is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there.” (Genesis 21:17)The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you, with his whole army and his land.” (Numbers 21:34)· Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. (Isaiah 54:4)· But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” (Matthew 14:27)Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)Now envision pages more of such references. Do you get the sense that God is alert to your fears?The God Who Hears and Cares “Don’t be afraid.” “Don’t worry.” They can be said so casually. I have said them to my wife when we have been on airplanes together and her palms were sweating before takeoff. My words, of course, were meaningless. They veered off into self-starving platitudes because I didn’t really want to hear about her fears. Already engrossed in the flight magazine’s crossword puzzle, I didn’t want to be bothered. But God’s words are nothing like my own. Think about them. God never says anything just to get you off his back. The sheer number of times he speaks to your fears says that he cares much more than you know. He is not so busy that he attends only to macro-level concerns. Instead, he is close and speaks to the details of your troubles. Do your troubles seem trivial, at least when compared to the dangers other people face? He knows you and has compassion. He does not compare your worries to those of others, decide which ones get priority, and then give everyone a number based on need. The way he repeats himself suggests that he understands how intractable fears and anxieties can be. He knows that a simple word will not banish our fears. He knows that our worries aren’t patiently waiting for permission to leave. Search Scripture and find that our fears are not trivial to God. “Do not be afraid” are not the words of a flesh-and-blood friend, a mere human like yourself. They are not the hollow words of a fellow passenger on a sinking ship, who has no experience in shipwrecks, can’t swim, and has not plan. These words are more like those of the captain who says, “Don’t be afraid. I know what to do.” When the right person speaks these words you might be comforted. Remember, “Do not be afraid” are the words of the One who can match speech with action. He is the sovereign King who really is in control. The efficacy of the words is directly related to the authority, power, and love of the One speaking them. Running Scared by Edward T. Welch http://www.newgrowthpress.com/
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