Today Daily Devotional

I was talking to a friend a while back who was dealing with many health concerns. As he was about to undergo ­another major surgery, he said that while he was anxious about his health and didn’t want to die, he wasn’t necessarily afraid of being sick or dying. I asked why—and he said he knew that whatever happened, God was in control.

A trembling woman who had been sick for many years approached Jesus. Then she touched the edge of his cloak and was immediately healed! While she was afraid to speak up about what she had done, Jesus assured her that her faith in him had made her well.

A father whose daughter was dying fell at Jesus’ feet begging for his daughter’s life. He was afraid to lose her—and even more afraid when he heard that she was dead. But Jesus assured him that she would be fine. “Just believe,” he said, “and she will be healed.”

Sickness and death are things that we all fear in one way or another. But as we look at these grim realities, we need to see them through the lens of Jesus’ sacrifice for us and God’s love for us. Sickness and death won’t go away until the Lord’s return, but we don’t need to fear them as we would if we did not know about God’s love for us.

When someone is afraid, you can see it in their eyes. I was on a service trip with a group of students, and we were serving a meal at a soup kitchen. A small fight broke out among some of the patrons, and I could see fear building in the students’ eyes. We quickly got the students into the kitchen and watched from the door as the nuns who ran the soup kitchen handled the fight. But the fear that we experienced in that moment was real.

I remember the nuns talking to us afterward and commenting on our fear. While they understood it, they didn’t seem to have the same fear. They had seen all of this before and didn’t seem nervous about it at all. Sometimes it takes someone who is not experiencing fear to call out the fear in someone else in order to get rid of it.

In our story from Acts today, when the jailer realized that all of the prisoners in his charge might have escaped, he was so afraid that he was ready to take his own life. But Paul shouted to him that there was no need to harm himself. There was no need to be afraid! Everyone was still there.

As followers of Christ, we don’t need to be afraid. And we can also help others address their fears. In fact, we have the duty to help others in this way by introducing them to Jesus. Whom do you know that is living in fear? How can you come alongside them and help them out of their fears?

Picture the scenario. A child does something that they know they aren’t supposed to do. Maybe they broke something they weren’t supposed to play with. They knew they were going to be in trouble when a parent found out, so they hid in a closet, or in their backyard, or maybe even in a tree fort, hoping to escape the consequences of their actions.

Adam and Eve sinned against God. They knew that he had told them not to eat from one of the trees in the garden. But they gave in to temptation and ate the fruit of that tree anyway. Like children afraid of a parent, Adam and Eve hid from God, hoping to escape the consequences of their actions. Adam and Eve were afraid of what God might say or do to them because of their disobedience.

While there certainly were consequences for their sin—consequences that we still experience today—there was also forgiveness and grace. God continued to care for them. He didn’t just leave them to themselves. In fact, from the moment of their sin God began to shape history toward reconciling Adam and Eve and all of their children to himself.

While God hates sin, he loves us and has gone to extraordinary lengths to bring us back to him. Forgiveness and grace are God’s gifts to his people every day.

Pilate was in a no-win situation. On the one hand, he had an angry mob outside his door demanding the execution of an innocent man. On the other hand, this man seemed to stand in opposition to the ruling government, and Pilate couldn’t have that news get back to Rome. This does not let Pilate off the hook for his decision, though.

Whether Pilate’s fear stemmed from the unruly mob, the Roman authorities, or the con­sequences of killing an innocent man, we can’t be sure. In the end all we know is that Pilate was afraid and acted out of fear.

Fear can cause all of us to make bad decisions. And while the decisions we make out of fear don’t have the same consequences that Pilate’s decision did, they are still serious. At times they can even have dire consequences for us, for our family members, and for our community.

We don’t have to make decisions that way. Fear doesn’t need to be and should not be the driving force behind any decisions we make.

In Christ we have been set free from all sorts of things, including fear. As free children of God, we don’t live in fear anymore.

I remember a bully on the school bus when I was a kid. He used to do mean things to others—picking on them, humiliating them, and generally making life miserable on the bus ride home. Everyone ­hated getting on the bus because of him. What it boiled down to was that we were all afraid of what he might do or whom he and his friends might pick on that day. We lived in constant fear under his “rule.”

Lots of people use fear to get other people to do what they want. From bullies on the bus to leaders of countries—fear can be a terrific and horrific motivator.

When God was teaching the people of Israel how to get along with each other, he made sure to tell them not to rule ruthlessly over each other. Ruthless rule uses fear to motivate and control. That kind of rule robs everyone of their dignity and of the image of God in them. God didn’t want his people to be treated that way or to treat others that way. Ruling by fear would not be ­allowed in God’s kingdom.

When we use fear to control others, we do exactly what God doesn’t want us to do. He wants us to live in peace with each other. And when we are in charge of others, God wants us to treat them with love and respect. Ruthlessly ruling with fear has no place in our interactions with others.

I’ve never been so excited that I broke into song or poetry. But I can remember Christmas mornings when I was so excited that I couldn’t wait to open gifts. When my wife and I started dating, I found it really hard to focus on my homework. But I’ve never broken into song like Mary did, as we can see in Luke 1.

Imagine Mary’s excitement. She was pregnant with the Son of God and had just been blessed by her relative Elizabeth—who became the mother of John the Baptist (Luke 1:57-80). Mary rejoiced in song, the song that we have read today in Luke 1. In the middle of that song, Mary sings that the Lord extends mercy to those who fear God. This might make us confused. Isn’t fear a bad thing?

In many places in Scripture, fear is equated to awe, devotion, and even worship in connection with God. God does amazing things—things that are so far beyond our comprehension that fear may be the only appropriate response. After all, God created the universe—and you and me too. And he didn’t abandon us even when we turned our backs on him. He guided all of history to bring his good plans for us to completion. He sent his only Son to be born a human being, to live as we live, and to die for our sake—paying the price for all our sins. And he still loves us today. There’s no better reaction to all of this than awe, reverence, worship—and yes, even fear.

Fear can be caused by many things. It can come from not knowing or understanding something. It can come when we face danger. It can come when we discover something more powerful than we are—or something that we imagine is more powerful.

God knew his people would face many fears as they entered a new land. They would encounter things they didn’t understand, and they would face powerful enemies. They were literally walking into the unknown.

God also knew that the fear of something powerful could lead people to veneration and worship as well. And that was one thing God would not allow. He didn’t want his people to worship other gods, or idols, or the sun or moon, or riches, or anything else. None of those things could bless his people with full life. Only God could do that. So he called them to fear, worship, and serve him only.

In our world today, we might think that sounds rather silly. After all, we don’t worship ­other gods like the people of other nations did back then. But we need to be careful. There are many things in our lives that we treat with awe and devotion. There are many things we can love or fear instead of God. But God wants us to fear and love only him. His power and glory are beyond anything we can imagine. Watch out for things in your life that can distract you and keep you from serving God.

Am I the only one who balks at the question that the psalmist asks here—“What can mere mortals do to me?”

I think we all know what the psalmist is getting at here, but people can be mean! They can hurt us verbally, emotionally, psychologically, and physically. And my guess is that we’ve all experienced at least one of those hurts, if not all of them. I don’t necessarily live in daily fear of physical harm, but some people do—and that can be devastating. However, I do live in fear of being hurt by people’s words. Every time I open my email, I’m afraid of what someone else might say about something I did.

Still, the psalmist knew all of that as well as we do. He was pursued and threatened with bodily harm. But even in the midst of threats and dangers, he was able to give thanks to God, confess that the Lord was with him, and be certain that mere mortals could not ultimately destroy him.

While people might be able to hurt our bodies or minds, they can’t hurt our souls. And while people can hurt us in this world, they can’t hurt us forever. That is the message the psalmist wants us to hear. We aren’t assured of health and safety on this earth. But we don’t need to fear what anyone on this earth can do to us. They cannot control our destiny. With God, we can be certain that our destiny is in his hands.

I was with a group of students on a service trip several years ago. We were doing repairs on some houses that had been damaged by a hurricane. None of us was particularly skilled at what we were doing, but we had all volunteered to be there and to work as hard as we could. Though we weren’t the most skilled crew ever, we ended up accomplishing more than we were expected to. By the end of our stay, we all knew that God had blessed our efforts and had made us successful in what we did.

Though we did more work than we had imagined, our first response wasn’t like Peter’s. It wasn’t a response of fear. But, looking back, I think I can understand Peter’s reaction. He and the other fishermen had been working hard all night and hadn’t caught any fish. Then Jesus came along and told them to fish on the other side of the boat. The resulting catch almost sank their boats! That day Peter got a glimpse of who Jesus is and how powerful he is, and that made him afraid.

When God shows up, it can be frightening. When God works through us, it can be disorienting.

But Jesus’ response makes sense. Don’t be afraid that God is doing amazing things through you and around you. Instead, take the amazing things that God has done and show and tell others about them. Share the good news of God’s work and glorify him!

Anyone who has battled depression knows the feeling of “terror, not peace” described by Jeremiah. A few years ago I experienced a time in which I felt I had lost my calling to work in ministry. I felt that I couldn’t do anything right and that I had no reason to be working in ministry anymore. I felt lost, alone, and helpless. I was afraid.

As Jeremiah prophesies about Israel and Judah, he describes them in a very helpless situation. They are an enslaved people living a seemingly hope­less existence. The only thing that they know to do is to cry out in fear and in terror. Peace is not a companion that they know.

But the Lord doesn’t leave them there. In their time of trouble, God hears them, and he promises that he is with them and will deliver them.

God hears us when we cry out in terror and fear, just as he heard Israel and Judah. He hears us in our hopelessness. And God doesn’t leave us there.

No matter how alone you might feel, God is with you. No matter how afraid you might be, God has you in his hands. So when fear and terror overwhelm you, look for God. When peace is nowhere to be found and helplessness overwhelms you, God is there to calm your fears and deliver you from captivity.