Those three words \u201cDo not fear\u201d pack a punch, don\u2019t they? While I stay on the bandwagon about living by trust and faith, the fact is I am not such an idealist that I am unaware of the fears we all face: taking care of bills, repairs, health concerns, pain and struggling relationships, etc. I am very cognizant of the seriousness of those who are at the end of their rope in coping with fear. It is no laughing and quick-fix matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So where do we start when worry, fear and concern dominate our lives? Can we live above our fears? Or at least quiet their gnarly voices? I believe this is the season that puts the answers for us in neon, flashing lights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By this season I don\u2019t mean the Christmas carols playing, Santa ho-ho-hoing, colored lights and sentimental old Christmas movies. I mean how Christmas can point us to deeper sources of hope, courage and fearlessness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those of us in the Christian tradition believe that this time of year presents us with the answers we need that can change the whole picture. No wonder the angels announce to the main characters in this drama, \u201cDo not be afraid.\u201d Mary hears it. Joseph hears it. The shepherds, scared witless by all the radiance in the sky, hear it from a chorus of angels. No wonder \u201cDo not be afraid\u201d appears in the Bible more than 100 times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It sounds like God delights in turning around \u201ctimes of fear into holy, providential moments” of His presence and His promises to keep us in spite of times of fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ONE and ONLY — the same God Who told Mary, Joseph and the shepherds to not be afraid, is still speaking to us: “Do not be afraid.” The “Do Not Fear” words don\u2019t sound like a suggestion to me. Why does God COMMAND us not to be afraid when every day there are situations that occur and it seems impossible NOT to fear?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throughout the Bible we learn that our Lord is a Lord of miracles and we are not to fear or have a lack of trust. Even the tough times, even in the uncertainty of the 21st century (or the 1st century) God\u2019s plan is greater than our fears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this season, or in the days to come, may we remember that the perfect love of God casts out fear. The message of the Angel of the Lord is for every day – not just Christmas\u2026 \u201cFear not, for I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people. For unto you is born this day \u2026 a SAVIOR which is Christ the LORD! (Luke 2:9-11)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Picture the God of the universe handing you his Son, wrapped in swaddling clothes. Hear Him say, “Do not be afraid of anything….. ever. I give you joy. I give you peace. I give you comfort. I give you hope. I give you good news of great joy! I give you peace that passes understanding. I give the the perfect love that casts out all fear. I give you JESUS!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGod is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear.\u201d Psalm 41:1-2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Those three words \u201cDo not fear\u201d pack a punch, don\u2019t they? While I stay on the bandwagon about living by trust and faith, the fact is I am not such an idealist that I am unaware of the fears we all face: taking care of bills, repairs, health concerns, pain and struggling relationships, etc. I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17300"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17308,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17300\/revisions\/17308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}