“Who is like you, Lord God Almighty? You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you. You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them” (Psalm 89:8-9).

This is another message in the series on questions that Jesus asked.

Do you ever feel fear? Maybe you hear a strange noise at night and are concerned it might be someone trying to break in. Maybe you or someone in your family has some strange symptoms and you are afraid it might be a serious medical condition. Maybe there is someone in your life who has abused you and you are fearful that it will happen again. Maybe you are always fearful that there will be too much month at the end of the money, and how are you going to pay the bills or feed your family.

Maybe you know the fear is irrational but you are afraid anyway. For the majority of my childhood and even teen years, I was extremely afraid of dogs and pretty much any kind of animal. In fact, I’m embarrassed to say that I caused my baby brother to be hurt because of my fear. We were playing in my grandmother’s front yard. I was seven, and he was just months old. I saw something coming toward us, hardly taller than the grass. I realized it was a kitten, and in panic I hurriedly picked up my brother to save him and then dropped him as I was trying to climb the porch steps to bring him to safety. He had to have stitches in his forehead.

I used the word “feel” because that’s what fear is. It is a feeling. It is an experience. It can become a physical reaction when our adrenal glands start pumping, and that will prompt a physical response of fight or flight that may or may not be appropriate to the actual situation. I am not trying to imply that the situations causing fear are imaginary or less terrible. They are very real and very serious. However, it is our response to those situations that I am addressing.

Jesus had lots to say about being afraid, as did his Father before him. I counted 75 times in the NIV that the command (yes, command) was given: “Do not be afraid.”*

• God told Abraham, Hagar, Isaac, and Jacob, and Moses “Do not be afraid.”
• Moses told the children of Israel, the leaders, and Joshua “Do not be afraid.”
• Joshua told his leaders and the children of Israel “Do not be afraid.”
• God told Gideon, and Samuel told the people “Do not be afraid.”
• Jonathan told David, and David told Solomon “Do not be afraid.”
• The Lord told Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel “Do not be afraid.”
• Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel, and Zechariah relayed the message to the people they served “Do not be afraid.”
• The angel Gabriel said to Joseph, Mary, Zechariah, and the shepherds “Do not be afraid.”
• Jesus said to his disciples and other believers “Do not be afraid.”
• The angel said to the women who were looking for Jesus after he was crucified “Do not be afraid.”
• Jesus spoke to Paul in a vision “Do not be afraid.”
• Jesus spoke to John in a vision “Do not be afraid.”

The situations represented in the above examples are major, life and death situations. They are situations with apparently no way out. God is asking his people to trust him, to relocate, to serve him, to go to war, to deliver unpopular messages to wicked people, to believe the unbelievable, and all with severe consequences. But the message does not end there. Here is the complete message:

• As Moses said to Joshua in Deuteronomy 3:22: “Do not be afraid of them; the LORD your God himself will fight for you.”
• As Jesus says to his disciples in John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
• We need to keep things in their proper perspective as the writer of Hebrews reminded us in Hebrews 13:6 (quoting Psalm 118:6): “So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

Jesus asked the question, “Why are you so afraid?” when he responded to the disciples who were with him in a boat in the middle of the lake in the middle of a storm (Matthew 8:23-27).  I don’t know if you have ever been in this situation, but I have. No matter how hardy your boat is or how experienced the driver, you are mostly out of control when the storm, winds, and waves are so strong. The men in the boat certainly had reason to be concerned. As experienced as they were on the water, this was truly a violent storm and the boat was in danger of being swamped.

Jesus asked the question, not because of the danger of the storm, but because He was right there with them. And then the Scripture says He rebuked the storm. That’s a pretty bold response. It’s Jesus. He could have just calmed the storm. He could have just stopped the storm. But he rebuked the storm. Some writers suggest that the storm was caused by Satan because he had a small target (the boat) containing his greatest enemies (Jesus and the disciples), and he thought he could take them out in one fell swoop. Jesus would have known that, because He knows all. He knows what is behind every storm that assails us. He not only knows all, but He is everywhere all the time, and He is all powerful. Why should the disciples be afraid when Jesus is right there with them?

Jesus asked the question, not because of the danger of the storm, but because He was right there with them. And then the Scripture says He rebuked the storm. That’s a pretty bold response. It’s Jesus. He could have just calmed the storm. He could have just stopped the storm. But he rebuked the storm. Some writers suggest that the storm could have been caused by Satan because he had a small target (the boat) containing his greatest enemies (Jesus and the disciples), and he thought he could take them out in one fell swoop. Jesus would have known that, because He knows all. He knows what is behind every storm that assails us. He not only knows all, but He is everywhere all the time, and He is all powerful. Why should the disciples be afraid when Jesus is right there with them?

Brothers and sisters, when your situation is troubling, when misfortunes occur in your life, call on Jesus. He has promised he will be there with us; he will fight with us and for us. He has not given these words to us as a platitude or even a suggestion. They are a command! When that irrational fear, that thing that keeps you awake at night or paralyzed with inactivity during the day seems to overcome you, use these verses to take away your fears. Call on Jesus; call on the Holy Spirit, just as He has commanded us. He will calm the storm, He will rebuke the enemy, He will provide for us, and He will give us peace.

Jesus asked the question, not because of the danger of the storm, but because He was right there with them. And then the Scripture says He rebuked the storm. That’s a pretty bold response. It’s Jesus. He could have just calmed the storm. He could have stopped the storm. But he rebuked the storm. Some writers suggest that the storm could have been caused by Satan because he had a small target (the boat) containing his greatest enemies (Jesus and the disciples), and he thought he could take them out in one fell swoop. Jesus would have known that, because He knows all. He knows what is behind every storm that assails us. He not only knows all, but He is everywhere all the time, and He is all powerful. Why should the disciples be afraid when Jesus is right there with them?

Brothers and sisters, when your situation is troubling, when misfortunes occur in your life, call on Jesus. He has promised he will be there with us; he will fight with us and for us. He has not given these words to us as a platitude or even a suggestion. They are a command! When that irrational fear, that thing that keeps you awake at night or paralyzed with inactivity during the day seems to overcome you, use these verses to take away your fears. Call on Jesus; call on the Holy Spirit, just as He has commanded us. He will calm the storm, He will rebuke the enemy, He will provide for us, and He will give us peace.

Do.Not.Be.Afraid.

In Christ,

Judy

*If you would like to research this for yourself, it’s easy. Just go to biblegateway.com and insert the words “Do not be afraid” in the search box. I’ve actually done it for you right here.