“And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God” (Luke 1:30).

There are many “fear not’s” recorded in the Bible. God knows our hearts and understands how crippling the emotion of fear can be. Many have been devastated by fear and have become a slave to it. For the born-again Christian to fear indicates one of two things: Either he doesn’t know what the Bible promises about victory over fear, or if he does know, he doesn’t trust what God has promised.

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: . . . He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love Him, because He first loved us” (I John 4:18,19). The greatest act of love in all the annals of time was the sending of God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to Earth to die for the sins of mankind. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

In the Christmas narratives, there are several “fear not’s.” The “fear not” of salvation: “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings . . . which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10,11). The “fear not” of the humanly impossible: “Fear not, Mary: . . . the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: . . . For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:30,35,37). The “fear not” of unanswered prayer: “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 1:13). The “fear not” of immediate obedience: “Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: . . . Then Joseph . . . did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him” (Matthew 1:20,24). NPS