While you are there…do not be afraid
Have you noticed that there are more messages about fear these days than possibly ever before, or is it just me? Church signs, Sunday sermons, blog posts, sharing scriptures, secular articles, etc. These are very timely messages for sure. It’s not like the messages have not been there all along in the Bible. We’ve heard there are 365 references to “do not be afraid” in scripture, one for each day of the year.
I tend to sterilize these messages and my eyes often glaze over when someone repeats some of these scriptures to me. The familiar passages, although reassuring and comforting in some ways, sometimes leave me trying to connect the dots with what I’m actually experiencing in my daily challenges.
How do I incorporate what I know in my head into my heart and out into my experience?
Please humor me as I add yet another approach to “do not fear.”
Pondering the accounts of Jesus’ birth over the past few weeks led me to notice something yesterday, as I reflected again on the “do not be afraid” messages within that story.
Luke 1:13 *“Do not be afraid…your prayer has been heard.”
Luke 1:30 *“Do not be afraid…you have found favor (grace) with God.”
Mt. 1:20 *“Do not be afraid…the child is from the Holy Spirit.”
Luke 2:10 *“Do not be afraid…this is good news: a Savior is born to you.”
*all paraphrased by me
In the first three instances, there seems to have been a double meaning to the invitation to not be afraid: 1) Don’t be afraid of the angel; 2) Don’t be afraid of what he is going to tell you. The fourth incident is also about the angel, but now the fear addressed seems to be about life in general. It’s as if the arrival of the ultimate Prince of Peace has come to alleviate all other fears!
If I put them all together, I hear:
“Debbie, do not be afraid because God has heard the prayer of your heart and you have received the gifts of grace over your life. What is happening is holy: Christ is here and he is being birthed continually for you, in you, and through you. Again I say, do not be afraid.”
In every case noted above in scripture, the individuals who received the messages received them “while they were there” doing their daily life stuff.
Zechariah, granted, was a priest and was in the temple. But that was his duty and it was not the norm for priests to be visited by an angel while performing their duties. All the others were in their homes or at work. They weren’t, at that moment, sitting and listening for a message from God. However, I do think we can learn something about these individuals that can teach us more about how to position ourselves so that we can hear God beyond our quiet time or in church. (Both important, by the way.)
God saw that of all the people who could hear and receive this announcement as good news, it would be people who were living a lifestyle of quiet reflection. A priest, a woman who often “pondered,” a man who was taking times to think things through with discernment, shepherds who were keenly aware of their surroundings and often lived in quiet solitude, and astrologers who studied the heavens and ancient manuscripts for insight. All of these individuals were fertile wombs who were ready to receive and nurture the gift they were given.
This message did not change the daily routines of those receiving it, but it gave a new perspective and a new hope that forevermore would help them consider every moment as holy. From that moment on, every time they would go about doing what they were doing when they heard from heaven that day with wonder and reverence that is available for us right now in our lives. Whether it’s a routine activity or a disruption in plans, God is present in it and you and I can tune our ears to receive what is holy and transformative if we pay attention.
I want to offer you an opportunity to take some time away from the hustle and bustle of the season and of typically over-stimulated lives to find a quiet corner to reflect.
Download the prayer practice here, or listen to the audio version here. And do not be afraid! Instead, let us adore the One who has come to banish the ultimate fear of all mankind.
If you prefer, you may listen to an audio version of this practice here.