Then an angel of the Lord
appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and
was gripped with fear. But the angel said
to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and
you are to give him the name John.
- Luke 1: 11-13
Mary was greatly troubled at his
words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid,
Mary, you have found favour with God”
- Luke 1:29-30
That night the Lord appeared to
him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will
bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my
servant Abraham.”
- Genesis 26:24
See, the Lord your God has given
you the land. Go up and take possession
of it as the Lord, the God of your fathers, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
- Deuteronomy 1:21
God always has four words for His
people: DO NOT BE AFRAID. When He speaks
to His people, His introductory address is “Do not afraid.” When He calls His
people, He commands them, “Do not be afraid.” Even His angels, the messengers,
tell His people to not be afraid. So I ask
myself, “Is God that frightening to His chosen people for them to be in a
fearful state? Why their first reaction would be to get frightened? What is
there to be afraid of?”
“Do not be afraid” – a command
from God; a comfort to those who fear; an assurance of God. I guess those whom God called in the Bible
were afraid of the unknown. Same goes
with us. We are afraid of the
uncertainty. We are afraid of whom we do
not know. We are afraid of the big,
overwhelming things. We are afraid we
might not handle things well. We are
afraid to believe in the promise; that it might not be fulfilled. There are
many reasons to be afraid, but God commands us not to. God comforts us not to be afraid, for He
always brings good news, and He always fulfills good promises.
Personally, I have a confession
to make. Sometimes, I find it hard to
believe when God says not to be afraid.
Why? That is because I haven’t known God fully yet. And to me, trusting someone whom you haven’t
really known is not a good idea. I admit
that I still lack knowledge of who God really is, for I know there is something
more about Him to discover every time I open the Bible. But praise God! Praise God! He has not called
me to be afraid, but to trust Him for He has proven Himself faithful. I thank God for being patient with me,
drawing me near to His Presence, wooing me towards His love, revealing Himself
to me. He whispers, “Do not be afraid,
Sheslley, My child. You are mine, and I am with you. Trust in Me.”
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| Photo courtesy: care2.com |
Great men and women of the Bible
had surely experienced fear at one point in their lives. As they have come to know more and more about
God, their fear turned into faith! God
knows them inside out including their fears.
God knows every bit of our fears as well.
So why is it so hard to trust the
God whom He had given His all for us? Why
is it that we are afraid of an unknown future when God holds the future? Why is
it sometimes when God speaks, we are afraid to listen?
Why? For we haven’t fully known
God Himself. That is why Jesus had to
come down from heaven to reveal who God really is. And more of that, Jesus had to come down to
earth to save mankind from death eternal.
[Journal entry: April 15, 2012]
