Fear and Faith

Matthew 1:20-21, Luke 1:11-15, 28-31, 2:8-10 / Fear & Faith.

Joseph:

20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Mary:

28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

Zechariah:

11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord.

Shepherds:

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

As I recently read through the Christmas story, I noticed a surprising trend among each of the people involved in the birth of Jesus:

All of them were initially afraid.
All of them were a part of something much bigger than themselves.
All of them were told not to be afraid.
All of them stepped out of fear and into obedience.

At times we can read these stories in Scripture and see the people involved as fictional characters, forgetting that they were real-life people, just like us. Each of these people; Joseph, Mary, Zechariah (John the Baptist’s dad), and the Shepherds all had insecurities, different personalities, and struggles. And each of them, when confronted by the awesome presence of God had the same initial reaction of fear, but then responded in faithful obedience that resulted in great things for God’s Kingdom.

As we draw closer to God, we will at times find the things He calls us to overwhelming. His holiness and his commands laid out in Scripture can bring us to our knees as we realize we don’t have what it takes to do it on our own strength. The promptings of the Holy Spirit to step out in faith and share the Gospel, sacrificially give, or engage in intentional ministry – may make us very anxious.

Do not be afraid!

God is with you just as He was with those we read about in Scripture. He “knows the plans He has for you” and promises to give you what you need for each moment. Although He may call us to walk through hard things (Joseph risked his reputation by staying with Mary, Mary was an unwed mother, Zechariah went mute for a time), God is faithful, we can approach Him with confidence, and we can experience the joy that follows when we obey Him!

As believers, each of us have been called to “Go and make disciples.” God has invited us into something SO MUCH BIGGER than ourselves. What a joy! What an honor!

Don’t let fear keep you from walking in that incredible calling.

With much love,

Pastor Dave