Do Not Be Afraid

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TN TornadoThankfully most of my friends who have seen this picture say “it doesn’t even look like you!”  However I can tell you it is me and my Chief kid-at-heart husband!

The first week of September we spent in Gatlinburg, Tennessee with friends.   We spent one day at Dollywood and my husband turned into a kid again wanting to go on every roller coaster and scary ride! When he said “we just have to go on the Tennessee Tornado” I said “sure”  trying very hard to match his new-found enthusiasm for the stupid and daring.

As we approached the ride and then heard the warnings about who should and who shouldn’t ride, I started getting apprehensive. He said, “oh come on, don’t be afraid, I’ll be right beside you.”  You can decide for yourself after looking at our picture of the ride if his  “don’t be afraid” was of any comfort to me … or to him!

When my husband said “I’ll be right beside you” I heard Jesus saying “I’m always with you.” Since then I have thought about all the many, many times God tells us through scripture, “don’t be afraid, I am with you.”

When I shared this picture with my friend Joyce she said,  “What a timely reminder that we serve the only true God that is with us wherever we go!”

A few of my favorite fear not scriptures are:
Isaiah 41:10 “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

​Jeremiah 1: 8 “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.”​

Revelation 1:17 “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me,saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last,”

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

When I rode the Tennessee Tornado I was both scared and exhilarated. Do you sometimes feel that way when taking on a new commitment, Bible study, or saying “yes” to teaching a Sunday school class?  I read that “fear not” is used 365 times in the Bible.  I think that is pretty neat because it means that every day of the year the LORD is telling us to not be afraid.  Many times I have heard pastors say, “why did He need to tell us that?”  And of course the answer is because we are fearful of many things!  I found this really cool visual of all the scriptures that include fear not or do not be afraid.

This Fear Not printable is from Melinda at Musings Of A Minister’s Wife and it turns out she did the heavy lifting and researched the 365 Fear Nots.  In her blog post on fear she writes:

“I was so intrigued when I learned that “Fear Not” was in the Bible 365 times. I thought, “Wow! How awesome is that!” After a few months of thinking about this from time to time, I had a great idea to do a printable using all 365 scripture references that deal with “fear not”. I went to my concordance to get the scripture references, and do you know what I found?

  • The phrase in the intended context is only used 80+ times
  • The phrase “fear not” in used in other contexts, but you wouldn’t want them to apply to you
  • Other word pairings that would be equal to “fear not” (“do not be afraid”, “do not fear”, “be not afraid”) is used 30+ times”

There you have it — I learned fear not is NOT mentioned 365 times in the Bible, but really, should He have to tell us more than once? (Evidently!)  I asked Melinda if I could share this printable with ya’ll and she said “sure!”  Click HERE and you will find her FEAR NOT picture with all the scriptures and a list of each scripture too! I highlighted the do not be afraid or fear not in each scripture.   You can print this or save it and spend time reading through each scripture.  When I did I was amazed at the comfort and serenity I felt just hearing the words fear not over and over from our LORD.

Riding the Tennessee Tornado took my breath away and really scared me.  Sitting with my Bible and reading fear not from the LORD is a comfort that can only be explained when you do it yourself. Then the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.   Philippians 4:7

Have a blessed and fearless week,
~Catherine

P.S.  Melinda’s website is filled with interesting information and fresh writing.  I hope you will stop by there and say “hi”!

 

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