Christmas Fears

During the month of December I enjoy reading fictionalized accounts of the birth of Christ along with the words in the Bible. In the scriptures concerning the birth of Jesus (and His cousin, John the Baptist) the words "Fear not" are found four times, spoken by angels:

Luke 1:13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

Luke 1:30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

Matthew 1: 20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

Luke 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

Fear is a common human reaction. Fear of the unknown. Fear of the future. Fear of gossip. Fear of an angel standing in front of us telling us not to fear!

As I was thinking about that, I remembered a fearful time in my life. Our house was broken into, while I was there. I was absolutely terrified. All the details are here. The next post is about the battle I fought with fear once the robbers were gone.

We don't know what tomorrow holds. Maybe you're fearing the results of a medical test. Perhaps your job is on the line, bills are mounting. Christmas is looking a little bleak for some. Each of us face different problems, but the Prince of Peace came to help us overcome our fears. He will walk with us. No, the problems may not go away, but we can walk in assurance that He promised to never leave or forsake us.

What happens around us is largely outside our control,
but how we choose to react to it is inside our control.
We can throw our hands up in defeat or
we can choose to trust God for His solution.
~Mom's Bible