Fear Not

by Rebecca Irwin
It has the power to make your feet feel like they were set into cement shoes. It will keep you from getting off the couch and doing something about it. It can prevent you from doing what is best because you anticipate the gossip. It can make you run when you should stay. It will keep you from really giving yourself a good look in the mirror. It will cause you to operate on presumptions and miss out on what is true. It deceives you into thinking you are choosing God's will because it feels safe. It inhibits true community. It kills joy. It suffocates love. It is FEAR.

What if fear had won in the account we hear retold each Christmas?

Mary would have disbelieved the angel Gabriel, maybe even ran from that place and missed his message to her. Instead, she was the mother of the Christ child.
"And Mary said, Yes, I see it all now: I'm the Lord's maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say. Then the angel left her. Blessed Among Women
Mary didn't waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah's house, and greeted Elizabeth....And Mary said, I'm bursting with God-news; I'm dancing the song of my Savior God. God took one good look at me, and look what happened - I'm the most fortunate woman on earth! What God has done for me will never be forgotten...It's exactly what he promised, beginning with Abraham and right up to now." Luke 1:38-55 [the Message]

Joseph would have divorced Mary quietly and missed out on the journey. Instead, he got to name the boy Jesus, which means God saves.
"While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God's angel spoke in the dream: "Joseph, son of David, don't hesitate to get married. Mary's pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God's Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus - 'God saves' - because he will save his people from their sins." This would bring the prophet's embryonic sermon to full term: Watch for this - a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Emmanuel (Hebrew for "God is with us"). Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God's angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary.But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus." Matthew 1:20-25 [the Message]

The shepherds would have cowered in the fields and never seen the Christ child. In great contrast, they met the chief end of man and glorified God because of what they had seen.
"As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. "Let's get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us." They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed. Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they'd been told!" Luke 2:15-20 [the Message]

Let this be a great reminder to me! Each time a messenger of the Lord appeared to someone in the story, they commanded them "Fear not" or "do not be afraid". In obedience, exercising complete faith, they overcame their fear as they believed the message that was given to them. In the book of Mark, Jesus told a father whose daughter was reported dead "Do not fear, just believe," and he witnessed the miracle of his daughter being made well. In 2 Timothy, Paul wrote to him, "For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." A commentary on this verse said "Fear is the result of "the spirit of bondage" (Romans 8:15). Fear within exaggerates the causes of fear without." What amazing works are done when FEAR is removed!!

Father God, may you release us from the bondage of fear and timidity and through faith, allow us to exercise power, love and self-control. Cause your perfect love to cast out all fear. Perfect your love within us [1 John 4:18]. May we be like Mary, blessed among women, dancing the song of our Savior God. We thank you for defeating fear! Amen.