“Do Not Fear”

I have heard it said that if you counted how many times the phrase “do not fear” appears in the Bible, it would add up to 366.  That’s one “do not fear” for every day of the year plus one.  Which means that leap year is covered.  I have no idea if this is true.  I haven’t blocked out several hours to attempt to count the phrase in Scripture, but I do believe we should pay attention to the fact that it is there so often.  It serves as evidence of the fact that human beings tend to fall prey to fear, in many cases paralyzing fear.  The weaker a person feels, the more vulnerable the situation, the more that fear tends to display its ugly head.  When it does, a person can feel emotionally frozen, unable to progress.  Fear seems to bring out the worst in us.  It can be the biggest hindrance to our spiritual development and maturity.

And yet, the Bible seems to equally mention the need to “fear God.”  I haven’t counted how many times this phrase is present either, but I know it’s there a lot.  We are to walk in the fear of the Lord.  Those who fear him are blessed, while those who do not fear him will one day wish they had.  That’s what you read so often in the Bible.  We cannot deny this.  So, on the one hand, the Bible says, “do not fear.”  On the other, it says that we should, that we should “fear God.”  How does one make sense of this?  Why does God want us not to fear, while at the same time commanding that we fear him?

There really is no discrepancy here.  No issue at all.  And it’s because the word “fear” means two very different things, that there are two very different contexts at hand.  When the admonition to “fear God” is given, it’s a command to “respect” God, just as we would respect our earthly father, or an authority figure.  My father is a tall man, 6 foot 3 to be exact, so when we were younger children, we knew he was worthy of our respect.  He was strong.  He was capable of much with this strength, and we respected that, we “feared” that.  Yet, at the same time, we knew he loved us.  The older we got, the more we understood how great this love was.  We then understood that respecting him was a way of showing love to him in return.

One of my favorite set of verses regarding fear is found in 1 John 4:18-20: “There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”  I think it is critical to understand that our relationship with Christ must contain confidence, in other words, that God desires that we trust in his love for us.  When we trust in this love, a love that has shown us great grace, we realize there is nothing in our lives we must hide from him, and therefore nothing we should fear.  That’s why when we sin, which is every day, we are given the command to approach “the throne of grace” with confidence, or to “come boldly to the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16).  We do so, knowing that there is great grace waiting for us because there is great love.  Consequences for sin, in many cases, yes, but grace that is ultimately and eternally greater than all our sin, our sin which died a death with Jesus on the cross.

So, let’s return to the “fear not’s” in the Bible.  Why are they there?  What does their presence suggest about how we should relate to fear in our lives?  What do they tell us God wants us to do with unhealthy fear?  I think the answer is obvious.  He desires that we overcome any fear that acts as a hindrance to his perfect will for our lives, any fear.  Fear of people.  Fear of failure.  Fear of death.  Fear of shame.  Fear of harm.  Fear of not being safe.  The list could go on.  Fear will prevent us from being the person he has called us to be in him.  It will keep us from doing what he ultimately desires for us to do.  As the popular song suggests, “fear, he is a liar,” the most used weapon of the enemy of God who Jesus calls “the father of lies.”  With the help of Jesus, God wants us to face our fears, to overcome them, to expose them for what they really are.  He desires to take their power away so that we might walk in in the freedom, grace, and authority that belong to all children of Christ.  “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).  Is fear hindering you today?  Why not fear (respect) God instead?  Why not choose to face your fear, to overcome it with his strength?