When I was sixteen, I walked out of my local DMV office, feeling quite defeated and embarrassed.
I failed my drivers test.
I don’t remember much about the test or what all I missed (probably parallel parking)…but I DO remember what my mom said when I told her that I failed.
‘That’s okay. The next opportunity you get, take it again. If you can get an appointment tomorrow, take it then. Don’t wait.’
My mom knew the longer I waited, the more anxious I would become. She didn’t want fear to settle into my heart. I took her advice & within the week, I was an official licensed driver! Woo-hoo!! ? ? ?
A few months ago, my newly licensed sixteen year old son was driving home from school. It was pouring rain and another young driver sideswiped his car.
His car spun, jumped the curb, went into a ditch and hit an electric pole. Our car was totaled. Thankfully, my son’s injuries were minor and his eagerness to get back into the drivers’ seat was unscathed.
When I told my parents about the accident, they were of course grateful their grandson was okay, then my mom had the same response she had when I was sixteen.
She was happy to hear he’d be back on the roads soon. She didn’t want fear to have a chance to settle in his heart.
Fear is a funny thing. At the slightest opening, it loves to sneak into our hearts and if we aren’t careful, it makes itself at home.
But God, the creator of every human mind, knows the paralyzing damage fear can cause when we allow it to hang out longer than it should…which is why, throughout Scripture, one command is repeated over and over again.
DO NOT FEAR.
Some scholars say it’s written (in some form or another) 366 different times…one for every day of the year (including leap year).
•Genesis 15:1 “Do not be afraid Abram. I am your shield…”
•Genesis 21:17 “Do not be afraid (Hagar), God has heard you.”
•Genesis 26:24 “Do not be afraid (Isaac), I am with you.”
•Joshua 1:9 “Do not be afraid (Joshua)…I will be with you wherever you go.”
•Luke 1:30 “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.”
•Matthew 10:31 “Don’t be afraid (my disciples)…You are worth much more than many sparrows.”
And the list goes on…
Some are given a new assignment, entering a new territory or about to face a new giant. Some are weary from a battle or are about to lose hope.
Their situations are different. The command is the same. DO NOT FEAR.
God, our creator, also knows the VICTORY that lies ahead, on the other side of each of those “Do not fear” directives.
•For Abram, it was offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky.
•For Hagar, it was the promise of a great nation within her son.
•For Isaac, it was a reminder that God did not forget the faithfulness of his father.
•For Joshua, it was a promise of territory.
•For Mary, it was the promised Messiah.
•For the disciples, it was a promise of God’s provision.
2020 has given us plenty of things to be fearful of. And if there was ever a time when we need those words ingrained within us, it’s now.
DO NOT FEAR, (insert your name).
Now take a deep breath and let THOSE SWEET WORDS settle in your heart.
I wonder what’s on the other side of your “Do not fear.”
-Binu
