Monday, Dec. 10

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Monday

What are you afraid of?  The dark, spiders, confined spaces?  Everybody is afraid of something.  Here is a list of some of the more unusual phobias people have.  

Alektorophobia- Fear of chickens
Trichophobia: fear of loose hairs
Spectrophobia: fear of mirrors
Nomophobia: fear of being out of mobile phone contact
Nephophobia: fear of clouds
Linonophobia: fear of string
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia: Fear of long words.

Fear is a common human emotion, everybody has felt or experienced fear at one time or another.  Fear can get out of control and even become a mental disorder for some people, on the other hand, if a person never felt any fear at all, we would also say that person has something seriously wrong with them.  Fear is fundamental to the human experience.  

Believe it or not, fear has not always been a part of human existence.  There was a time in human history when people did not fear at all.  The first book of the Bible (Genesis) tells the story of how we were created to experience perfect harmony with God and each other.  Adam & Eve lived in peace without fear, anxiety or worry of any kind, until they chose to disobey God.  The result of their disobedience was that they immediately felt shame and fear, and as a result they tried to cover themselves and hide from God.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”  - Genesis 3:7-10

This is really a tragic story, just think about what was lost?  We too have disobeyed and rebelled against God, and we too try to hide from each other and from God.  Why?  Because somewhere deep down inside, we are afraid.  Did you know that the most frequently given command in all of the Bible is some form of “fear not”, or “do not be afraid”?  

Genesis 26:24 - That night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.

Deuteronomy 3:22 - Do not be afraid of them; the LORD your God himself will fight for you.”

Joshua 1:9 - Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

1 Chronicles 28:20 - David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you.

Psalm 118:6 - The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

Isaiah 43:5 - Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.

Take a moment to look back over each one of these verses...each time God commands us not to fear, He follows it up with a specific promise.  It is the promise of His presence with us, this is the reason we are not to be afraid - because God is with us!

Do you know the very first words the angel spoke to those shepherds keeping watch over their flocks on the night of Christ’s birth?

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  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. And the angel said to them, Fear not  
- Luke 2:8-10a

This is the central message of Christmas, God has come down to be with us and to save us from our sin.  He is the cure for our fearful condition, He is the antidote to our fear!  Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). - Matthew 1:23 

Jeff Frazier