Many of us have fear in our lives.We fear for our family when they travel on the roads. We fear we might receive an unexpected bill or house repair that we can’t pay for. We fear we might lose our job or get laid off. We fear for our children as they grow up that they don’t drift away from God. We fear that our health might turn for the worst.
We even see fear in the bible. When Zacharias was in the temple burning incense as an offering to God “an angel appeared to Him” (Luke 1:11, NASB)[1] and the text says that, “Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him” (Luke 1:12, emphasis added). When Elizabeth was going to name her baby John and her neighbors said she shouldn’t name him that, God allowed Zacharias to speak again after nine months of being mute. When he spoke, “Fear came upon all those living around them” (Luke 1:65, emphasis added). When Jesus was born an angel of the Lord appeared before some shepherds that were staying out in the fields. The Bible tells us that these shepherds out in the country were “terribly frightened” (Luke 2:9)
But these people are told not to be afraid. When that angel appeared to Zacharias in the temple and he was afraid the first four words that the angel said to him was “Do not be afraid” (Luke 1:13a). When the angel Gabriel went to Mary to tell her she would be pregnant and have a child, Gabriel said four words to her, “Do not be afraid” (Luke 1:30). When the angel of the Lord appeared to those shepherds the first four words he said was, “Do not be afraid” (Luke 2:10).
Those are reminders for us not to have fear in our lives. Last year in April I read some of Max Lucado’s book, Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World. (A good title but a tough thing to do.) I brought that book with me to Moses Lake in April of 2021 when I was a pastoral candidate for Lakeview Missionary Church. My fear went to a new level that week. I was traveling to a place I had never been, to be at a church I had never seen, to preach to people I did not know. All while flying on an airplane for the first time with my three-year old son. And while here I had to face questions and fears in my own life: Are these people going to like me? What will they think about my preaching? Are they willing to have me come and lead the church? Will they think my jokes are funny?
And I know you too, have your own fears you are dealing with right now. “All these people are coming to my home for Christmas, am I going to get sick?” “I worked really hard to pick out a meaningful gift, will he or she like it.” “My cooking is never as good as hers is, will someone make another comment about my cooking?” “I’m not married or don’t have kids, are people going to ask me again this year why and what am I supposed to say?” “I miss my spouse, parents, or children, and I don’t know how I can get through the holiday season without them?”
Those are all legitimate things to be afraid about. But in that book, Anxious for Nothing, Max Lucado writes, “God has never promised a life with no storms. But he has promised to be there when we face them.”[2] At Christmas we celebrate that Christ came to earth to be with us. So at Christmas this year let’s have joy, not fear. If for only one day, or one evening, or even one hour at church on Saturday for the Christmas Eve service. Let’s have joy, not fear. In Warren Wiersbe’s book, The Bumps Are What You Climb On, he writes, “Joy is the birthright of every believer. Knowing that you are saved, one of God’s children, forgiven, going to heaven, is a source of endless joy.”[3] So let’s have joy, not fear, because the Savior is here.
[1] Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.
[2] Max Lucado, Anxious for Nothing (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2017), 112.
[3] Warren Wiersbe, The Bumps Are What You Climb On (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2002), 137.