Punch Fear In The Face

Ever had the experience of learning the meaning to a word for the first time, and then in the following days you suddenly see the word appearing everywhere?

Me, too.

The same thing can happen with a word in the Bible.

Take the word fear.

I did a keyword search and found there are 501 mentions of the word fear in the word of God.

Most of the references have to do with God telling us not to be afraid. I’m sure you remember the first words spoken by Saint John Paul II when he walked out onto the loggia when he was elected Pope in October 1978, “be not afraid.”

The question becomes why all this emphasis on not being afraid?

Why does God continually send the message that we are not to be governed or paralyzed in any way by fear?

Makes you think, doesn’t it?

Here are seven of those 501 examples, plus an extra bonus at no charge.

1 Psalm 23:4
2. Psalm 56:3-4
3 Isaiah 35:4
4 Matthew 14:27
5 Matthew 17:7-8
6 Philippians 1:13-14
7. 1 John 4:18
Bonus 8—Revelation 2:10

Fact: courageous people are not those who are 100% free of fear but are those who feel the emotion of fear but refused to be cowed by it—those who do the right thing anyway.