Day 12 - Fear Not!

Written By: Pat Hardin

SCRIPTURE FOCUS
Matthew 10:26-33
“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
 
DEVOTION
Jesus uses the word “fear” three times in this passage, always with the negative form. He is telling us emphatically not to be afraid, much as we tell our children not to be afraid of the dark or of the unknown monsters that lurk in the closet. The word He uses for “fear” is the same word from which we derive the term phobia, or fear of something. If we insist upon living in fear, then Jesus teaches us that only God is worthy of our fear (v. 28). I wonder if we even consider God as someone to be feared, or if we consider Him as such a good friend or benefactor that we should not fear Him. Why is it that we experience fear when we hear of invasions by foreign armies, or the spread of untreatable viruses, or even the onset of dreaded diseases, yet fail to accord the Creator of the universe the same level of fear?

I have had to hold my grandson’s hand at times because he was afraid, most recently when we had to walk through the dark garage to go home. As long as I walked with him, he had the courage to make the short journey through the garage. Why? I think it is because he believed that I was more powerful than the unknown entity in the dark garage. If we are honest with ourselves, we often feel the same way, don’t we? We believe that our circumstances are so helpless that they deserve our fear, yet Jesus promises us in this passage that we are not to fear any human being, nor are we to fear the unknown. His reasoning?  Soon everything that is unknown will be revealed, and everything done under the cover of darkness will be brought into the light of His judgment (vv. 26-27).
 
As for our physical well-being, Jesus explains that there is no need to fear, as our Creator knows every minute detail about us. He even knows how many hairs are on our head (v. 30)! That sounds ludicrous, doesn’t it? Who knows how many hairs are on their own head? Unless one is  completely bald, I bet nobody is able to answer that question. We may fear what others say about us, but even that is not worthy of our fear since all will one day be “proclaim(ed) on the housetops.” (v.27)  Jesus finds you more valuable than all of the rest of creation, and even though mankind doesn’t appear to place the same value on you, it doesn’t mean that you cannot trust the words of Jesus. Verse 31 reminds us of our value, and the following verse promises us that Jesus will one day stand up and acknowledge that He knows you and that He died to pay for your sins. WOW!!! The Creator of the universe knows everything about you and still likes you. Jesus finds your worth to be immeasurable, and will eventually stand up and proclaim to all of Heaven that you belong to Him. Hallelujah!

I know some people who have become friends of mine, and after they got to know me better, didn’t like me as much as they did before they knew me. I guess that all of my faults outweighed the few positive attributes I had. Jesus promises me that He knows me better than I know myself, and He still likes me. Thankfully Jesus won’t leave me the way I am, but will continue to shape me into the person He created me to be.

ACTION STEP
Ask Jesus to show you things about yourself that need to be changed in order to become more like him. Make a list of those things, repent of them and confess them to the Lord, and then search the Bible to find verses that will help change those things to reflect His presence in your life. If fear is one of those things, then define the nature of your fear and confess to a close friend who will keep you accountable to place that fear at the feet of Jesus. 
 
PRAYER TIME
Father, please forgive my fears and my lack of belief in Your care for me. Help me to understand my relationship with You, to live as one who is loved and cared for, and to put aside my own fears and insecurities as I learn to live in the truth of Jesus Christ. In His Name I pray, Amen.