In the holy bible, Isaiah 41:10. In this verse, God said to you and I:
“Fear not, for I am with you.”
God is aware of the presence of fear, but he is assuring that you should not fear because he is with you. Therefore, fear is not from God. One thing about being afraid is that fear allows you to see obstacles instead of opportunities in your life. “Fear not” is a reminder of God’s help and presence in your life.
What is your biggest fear? Are you troubled about the present or you are worried about the future? I will leave these questions to you. There are so many reminders about “Fear not” in the bible. Your situation might overwhelm, you may despair, and give up, but always remind yourself of God’s promise. “Fear not, for I am with you”!.
Remember, you are not going through difficult moments alone. I will share the story of Zachariah and Elizabeth in the bible. These couple has been serving God for a long time. They served God with all their heart and all they lived for was to do well before God. These couples had no child in their marriage. Albeit, they had prayed for a child in their marriage for a long time, but it seems that God did not answer. So, they were worried and afraid they will grow old and live the rest of their life without children.
One day, as Zachariah was on duty in the temple, the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and delivered a message (from God) to Zachariah. In the holy book, Luke 1:13 The Angel of the Lord said: “Fear not, Zachariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife Elizabeth will have a son and you will name him John.” When Zachariah received God’s message he was full of doubts because his wife was already old and passed the age of child birth.
Eventually, Elizabeth became pregnant and gave birth to a baby despite her old age. The couple praised God. From the story above, there is nothing God cannot do, but he reminds us to “Fear not!” Because he is with us.
Let me also refer you to another story in the holy bible. Matthew chapter 26:69-74. Peter denies Jesus.
(69) Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard and a servant girl came to him “You also were with Jesus of Galilee” she said.
(70) But he denied it before them all. “I do not know what you are talking about” He said.
(71) Then he went out to the gateway where another girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with the people of Nazareth”
(72) He denied it again with an oat saying “I don’t know the man”
(73) After a little while those standing there went up to peter and said: “Surely, you are one of them; your accent gives you away”
(74) Then he called curses down and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man”.
The passage above shows how much fear can control us. Prior Jesus was seized, Peter bragged he will never leave Jesus’ side no matter the circumstance (s). As the events unfolded about Jesus’ betrayal (By one of his disciples) Peter denied Jesus three times.
Peter was afraid to be identified with Jesus at that moment because he saw how Jesus was handled roughly by the soldiers. Peter was afraid Jesus will die in the hands of the men that seized him. He was also afraid of his own life as well. After denying Jesus three times, he realized he did not keep his promise of staying close to Jesus, and he felt sorry for what he did. At that moment, fear took the best part of Peter and he denied the one he loved.
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