"Do Not Fear"

LAMENTATIONS 3: 55-57 (NRSV)

“I called on Your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit; You heard my plea…You came near when I called on You; You said, ‘Do not Fear!’”

          Oh, what an awesome, loving God I have! How blessed I am to have a deity that gives me hope. How blessed I am to have a loving creator who cares about my little pits and my grand craters of life.

          Honestly, I rarely look at the Book of Lamentations; let’s face it, even the name is depressing! I go to Scripture to give me strength, not feed my lows. But recently a new devotional book I’m using has been going to this book as part of the readings for the day. Wow! Once again, it blew me away how faithful and true my Lord is to His word. God never turns His back on His own. No matter what I go through…small or large trials…He is right by my side.

          “Fear Not” appears 63 times in the King James Version of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelations, according to www.BibleGateway.com. We are told in 2 Timothy 1:7 that, “…God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind.” (NKJV)  “Fear Not” appears 48 times in the Old Testament. Paul, the author of this letter, studied the Hebrew Scriptures. I’m sure he knew, as one of my pastors often told us, that when something is repeated in the Scriptures God wants us to take note of it. Paul wrote this letter to Timothy to encourage him in his ministry of sharing the Good News with others. Paul knew without a doubt that God did not want His followers to fear anything.

          So when I am faced with the inevitable pitfalls of life, I need to remember to “Fear Not” because the Lord is beside me. And you know what; I peeked at the end of the book, so I know that God wins the final battle!-)