Fear Not.
The most repeated command in Scripture is "fear not". And I find that strange because life is crowded with uncertainties about the future (and even the present), tough conversations to be had, life decisions needed to be made, awkward silences in the face of suffering, unrealized dreams, and hopes they hope don't remain just that. It would seem we have great cause to fear. So why this command? Why was Israel told time and time again to "fear not"? Why, in a world shrouded with unknowns and worries and doubts and miscues, am I to abandon all fear?
Because of who is speaking the command. And what they promise.
Perhaps the reason this command is repeated so much is because the speaker understands that life, in fact,is fearful. The speaker is not unaware of the complexities and hardships of this world and so he knows that a recurring place we will find ourselves is right there: afraid, scared, unsure. And this is why he continues to remind the people of Israel to hold on, to trust, to keep walking, to fear not. Because life is full of fear, and he knows time and again they will be tempted to give themselves over to it. Right. So why then, knowing how full of fear life can be, do we receive such a command?
Because of who is speaking it. And what he promises.
More often than not, when the command is given to "fear not", it is followed by, "for I, the Lord your God, am with you". God is speaking the command. It is not an indifferent bystander talking about something he has no idea about. It is "the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior". The one "who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales and hills in a balance" [Isaiah 40:12]. This God, the God who orchestrates molecules, places stars, and works together all of human history; this God is the one who commands us to not be afraid. He knows what has passed, what is occurring, and what is to come. All the while, working it all together for our good. But as if he saw this as not enough, he promises to be with us in our fear and pain. He will not be off to the side doing his own thing while we plow through the muck and mire. He will not be indifferent to your fear and suffering. No. He has experienced it first hand on the cross. He will not leave you or forsake you. He will not allow you to face it alone. He will be there in it.
Beside you.
With you.
For you.
This is why we do not fear. Not because there aren't things to fear. But because we have a God who is sovereign over all things. Who for our good works all things. And who promises to remain alongside us in all things. What grace.
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
-Isaiah 43:2-7
Zach