What is your greatest fear? No matter how tough we may act, we are ALL afraid of something! The dark. Spiders. Snakes. Ghosts. Heights. Public speaking. Death…..
Phobias are irrational fears or being afraid of something completely benign or to an illogical degree. But many of our fears today are valid reasons for anxiety: the potential for world war, school violence and mass shootings, soaring rates of depression and suicide, resurgences of viral and serious illness, and many other significant, potentially life-altering realities our friends worldwide are facing.
According to a recent study, 91.4 percent of worry predictions did not come true. That means only 8.6 percent of the things you worry about will actually come true.
(Click here to read it for yourself: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0005789419300826#!)
But that doesn’t make them any less scary at the moment, does it? And that statistic provides zero comfort to me when I am in that 8.6% of my worst fear becoming my gravest reality. There is hope though, my friends!
Do you know the most used phrase in the Bible?
“Do not fear”….or some variation of that phrase (“fear not”, “be not afraid”, etc.) appears 365 times in God’s Holy Word. As far as I am concerned, that is one “fear not” command for every day of the year. And let me tell you something, Old Testament or New Testament, it doesn’t matter–those guys and gals faced the same things we face today! World wars, mass killings, violence against families and children, tyranny, poverty, famine, you name it! The fears we face today are the same fears that have plagued the world since Eve ate the apple in Eden. There may be a new spin and the ole Devil may slap a new pretty cover on it, but the world’s been suffering for almost as long as it’s been turning. And the ONLY answer for it is Jesus.
When the Bible says something more than once, when it is repeated two or three times, Bible scholars agree that it is significant and something that God is really trying to tell His people. Just like a parent or a teacher will repeat a concept several times (or even hundreds of times!) to try and get the message through to their children, God repeats Himself when He really wants us to get it.
THREE HUNDRED SIXTY FIVE times He repeats His command to us: “Do not fear!” And almost universally it is followed by a reason to look fear right in the face and smile….because He is with us. He will never leave us or forsake us. He is working every single thing together for the good of His believers who love Him back. We can live in this world completely unbothered, fearless, bold, because He goes before us, behind us, beside us.
Will our hearts break? Absolutely. This side of Heaven, we will cry. We will hurt. But Jesus did too. He knows our pain and never leaves us to face it alone. And the best news of all? The pain is temporary. Paradise awaits!
So, friends, when you turn on the TV or scroll on your phone in the coming days, weeks, months, and years, when that fear tries to sink in and take control, when the worry keeps you up and night and the future feels bleak or uncertain, I pray you’ll remember that you are not alone and (SPOILER ALERT!) the Good Guy has already won!
No matter who is president, Jesus is always King! Love God, love others, and live in peace, joy, and fullness!
Remember, Jesus loves you & I do too!
Dr. Allison Key