Do Not Be Afraid

Luke 1:30

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.”

Matthew 1: 20

But as he considered these things, behold, an angle of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do no fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirt. She will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus.”

Joseph and Mary were both visited by an angel to receive the news of the conception of Christ. God sent word to the two people His conception initially effected. They had to get this right. They had to trust fully in their faith and receive the task God had placed on them. His chosen words to both were “do not be afraid” and “do not fear.” A promise from God that what was happening, although a scandal from an earthly perspective, was actually the greatest news ever received. It gave them comfort to announce confidently Mary was pregnant by the Holy Spirit, comfort for Joseph to stand by her side, trust to know God was leading them in the right direction, and hope they could withstand public pressure. A message of “do not fear” from the Lord gave Joseph and Mary peace to do the right thing and stand as a testament to all of what faith in God’s word looks like. It’s tough to stand up and do the right thing when worldly pressure tells us to respond differently. But the glory of the Lord through a faithful servant will always outshine the work of the world. And in His glory comes peace, love, joy.  The beginning of Christ on earth started with a tremendous leap of faith of 2 people. God gave them what they needed to have with the words “Do not fear”, meaning I am God, this is my chosen path. I am sending the Savior of the world to earth through you. Do not be afraid. I will give you everything you need. I will give you trust in me, I will give you my strength, I will give you my comfort, I will give you my presence. You need nothing else. Do not be afraid.

There is nothing to fear when we put our faith in God. He is the great provider of everything we don’t know we need. When we are asked by God to do something that stands against the worldly thought of what is right, listen for His words, “do not fear.” Think of Joseph and Mary and the gift that came to the world through them and their faith. Think how differently the story would be if they had acted out of fear instead. What about you? How differently can your day turn out if you act out of God’s confidence? He wants His glory to shine through all of us one faithful step at a time. In everything He asks us to do He says, “do not fear.”

Merry Christmas!

LeAnn Jones