Out of fear…

Can you guess which command appears the most frequently in the Bible?   It’s Do not fear.   Those words show up 74 times, and the variation “Do not be afraid” appears 48 times.   That’s a total of 122 times!   We didn’t even count all the various other ways that God tells his people not to let fear rule them.

It’s a shame the fellow in Scripture didn’t take these words seriously.   It was fear that drove him to bury the talent his master had given to him.   It was fear that made him think his master was a harsh man with unreasonable expectations.  And it was his fear that cast him, penniless, into the outer darkness.

Of course, fear is not a sin in itself.   Sometimes it’s exactly the right response to a dangerous situation.   Fear can trigger a fight-or-flight reaction as a way of protecting ourselves.   It’s only when we let fear overwhelm us that we get in trouble.   For instance, if we’re not careful, we might try to steer clear of God—especially in Confession—because we’re afraid he might be angry with us.   Or we might bury our gifts rather than use them to build God’s kingdom because we’re afraid we’ll fail.

Don’t let this happen!   When you feel fear rising up, remember that God is your Father, not your executioner.   Remember that he is “merciful and gracious . . . , slow to anger, abounding in mercy”.   Then use whatever courage you have to take the next step forward.   God will supply whatever strength you need.

God loves when we push through our fear out of love for him.   He loves it when we trust in his goodness and step out in faith.   Even if we aren’t as successful as we’d like to be, he still says, “Well done, my good and faithful servant”.   He sees our faith, however weak we may think it is.   He sees our courage, however small we may think it is.   And he rewards us for it.

Word Among Us