They were terrified, “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” (Matthew 14:26b-27) NIV

One of our Lord‘s countless outstanding characteristics is that He does not let His children wallow in their fears. In the context of the Scripture quoted above, He immediately responded with “…Don’t be afraid,” the moment their fears became apparent. He did not wait until they were thoroughly terrified before identifying Himself to them. Instead, the word says, “…Jesus immediately said to them..”

God finds no delight in seeing  His children paralyzed by fear. In fact, all over the Scripture there is evidence pointing to the exact opposite. It is said that the words, “Fear not…” appears 365 times in the Bible -one for every day of the year. Now, not all fears are paralyzing and harmful. For example:

• The fear that you may hurt a baby makes you handle him with the utmost care and tenderness.
  
• The fear of damaging your body makes you avoid placing your hand on a hot stove.
  
• The surgeon, when operating on his patient, is working with the utmost precision and care, because there is a healthy fear that he may do damage to the life entrusted in his care for that time.

However, there are fears which are unfounded and rooted in a lack of trust in God’s ability to help us. These are the fears that paralyze us into dysfunction. These are the fears that take us captive and often limit us in the many good things we could be doing for others in the name of our Lord.

Moreover, fear may cause us to sin. For instance, if I am in trouble and I don’t trust God to help me, I will place my trust in telling a lie to help me. I then make a lie my refuge and reject God, who is the Truth. Trust, therefore, is key to fighting fear.  But even deeper than that: If we truly believe that God loves us, we will trust Him more readily, since it is much easier to trust someone whom we know loves us. Therefore, it is written, “There is no fear in love…” May our eyes be opened to the limitless love the Father has for us, for then we will trust Him more and we will not be afraid.

Further Reflection:

Psalm 56:3-4

Jeremiah 31:3

Ephesians 3:16-21

1John 4:16-19

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