Do Not Be Afraid

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we can go from being peaceful and calm with what is happening in our lives at any given moment, to suddenly being filled with the feeling of anxiousness, agitation, even panic or terror that comes like a thief in the night. More often than not, it’s nothing more than the familiar frights that we live with every day but that we do our best to hide from others. We try to make our peace with those familiar frights, because they are never too far away. When we are young they pop up at the odd hours of the night and are similar to the bogeyman or bogeywoman, a scary being that starts out one way as a child and then evolves into something else as we grow, becoming more sophisticated as do our fears.

However, those fears, whether they are people or circumstances, are of no real danger to us except in our minds. If we cannot overcome our fears, we will be forever enslaved by them. On the other hand, some of our fears originate from clear and present dangers in our lives.

There are people who are proud of the fact that they instill fear in those around them. They parade themselves around like the bogeyman or bogeywoman as if they are the master, authority, or boss of all whom they meet. Sometimes they can be disguised as a trusted friend but underneath their outer friendly demeanor lies a tyrant who attempts to dominate your life through psychological warfare. Other genuine fears we have come from circumstances that occur in our lives like accidents, natural disasters, and unexpected hardships that can be devastating if they actually happen. Actually, all the types of fears, whether the neurotic type or the real-world type are impostors. Our fears try to make us think that they have the power to take something that is simply not theirs to take - our life, our emotional and spiritual stability, or our relationship to those who are close to us. Our fears seek to rob us of our trust, our stability, and our peace of mind. Fear is a silent killer that is, according to the Oxford Dictionary: “an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.”

In Matthew 10:24-39 in your Bible, you will find out how Jesus teaches his disciples about fear and how to deal with it in relationship to his divine love and power. We are in a time in which we are being faced with several kinds of fears that are attempting to steal us away from the knowledge that God will heal us, unite us, and enrich us, but only if we understand how God works through them. It is not the way we normally believe it should happen. Please read the passage and find out what Jesus says that we should expect regarding fear.