"Fear Not, I AM with Thee"

           "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid." Luke 2:8-9 kjv

          Those wonderfully familiar words from your childhood come back to you every Christmas, don't they? How wonderful to see the glory of the Lord in an out-of-the-way place revealed to a group of unknown shepherds going about their daily tasks.  And God took the time and effort to announce the most important event, thus far, in history:  God was to become "one of us," a human being, in the person of a little baby born in a stable to a young Jewish girl, unknown to the world except to her family and friends.

         But do you remember the first words of the angel to the shepherds?!  "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." 2:10-11

        "Fear not!"  How often God gives the reassurance to His people in scripture to "fear not!" neither be dismayed.  "Let not your heart be troubled . . . neither let it be afraid!" Jesus told His disciples the night before He died.  John 14:27

        “Fear Not, I AM with Thee”

“Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed,

For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;

I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,

Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.”

–How Firm a Foundation

Fear not----

1. Because of who God is. “In Him we live, and move, and have our being.” Acts 17:28 We owe our very existence to God and that makes us totally dependent on our Creator. And we know His character and many of His attributes. He is the eternal, self-existing omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God with perfect and absolute power, glory, and holiness. He is the perfection of beauty, knowledge, and wisdom and is infinite in what He does. God is love. He is merciful and kind, patient with all His works.   He is the “Blessed God” with perfect fellowship within the Trinity. “As for God, his way is perfect.” Psalm 18:30

2. Because of what God has done–the works of God. “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.” Psalm 145:3-5 And of all God’s works, including Creation, is His greatest and most awesome work of Redemption in Christ–and at what a cost, the death of the Son of God on the cross! “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”

         What indeed is there then to fear since God has so demonstrated His love for us and the fulness of His redemption? “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:31-39

3. Because of what God does–His present providence. “God keeps all created things existing and maintaining the properties with which He created them.” (Grudem) Christ is “upholding the universe by His word of power.” Heb. 1:3 “upholding” means “to carry or bear.” It means more than simply “sustain,” but has the sense of active purposeful control over whatever is being carried. Christ, then, is actively involved in the work of providence. “In Him all things hold together.” “All things” means every created thing in the universe. “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.”  Colossians 1:16-17

         Everything in His creation obeys His Word: “Fire, and hail; snow, and [frost]; stormy wind fulfilling his word:” [his word of command]. “He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth.” Psalm 104:14 God directs the stars in the heavens as the book of Job makes clear. And Jesus said the same thing, “Your Father which is in heaven maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:45

          God feeds the animals throughout the world. “These all wait for You, that You may give them their food in due season. What You give them they gather in. You open Your hand, they are filled with good. You hide Your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.” Psalm 104:27-29 And Jesus called attention to the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” Matthew 6:26 “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father–or “without your Father’s will” [permitting]. Matthew 10:29

         God controls the political destinies of nations and international relations. “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.” Psalm 75:6-7 “His kingdom rules over all.” Psalm 103:19

          We see God’s providence in our lives daily. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” Psalm 37:23-25 “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” Matthew 6:26 If Jesus our Good Shepherd is looking after us and leading us in the paths of righteousness, why should we fear?

4. Because Jesus said “fear not!” and since we are His sheep, we follow Him and obey Him. “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow Me.” John 10:27. One of the key ways we can know whether we are Jesus’ sheep or not is whether we listen to Him, heed what He says, and obey Him. So, do it! “Fear not!”

         When John, the Beloved Apostle who had always been so close to Jesus, saw the glorified Christ in heaven, what was His reaction and Jesus’ response? “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, ‘Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Rev. 1:17-18

5. Because of the promises of God and the promise of His sustaining, adequate grace. And those promises are, indeed, comforting and real with the entire trustworthiness of God behind them. “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.” 2 Peter 1:3 ”For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength. . . .” Isaiah 30:15 “. . . Neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.

         Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let Him be your fear. . . .” Isaiah 8:12-13 “Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come. . . ; he will come and save you.” Isa. 35:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me. . . .” Psalm 23:4 “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10

6. Because of the inner certitude the Holy Spirit brings as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” Romans 8:16 and He also gives us assurance in our hearts. He is the “Anointing” that is explained in 1 John, the “testimonium” of the Holy Spirit whereby God intensifies the evidence and other reasons for knowing that God is Real and the Bible is true. Faith is the “conviction of things not seen,” “the deep inner certainty in your soul that God is on His throne and working His plan for your life. He will bring to pass what He has promised into reality.”

Faith is the “present assurance of future reality.” God brings assurance to your heart–NOT anxiety. He gives us faith–NOT fear. We have the inner assurance in my soul that God will do all that He said He would. There’s never any panic in heaven, only God’s immutable purposes and plans that He is systematically bringing to pass.

7. Because of the glory that awaits us. “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.” Philippians 3:20–21 We are to set our affections and our minds on things above not on things below. “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” Colossians 3:1-4 “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 

8. Because of Jesus’ constant Presence with us and His promise, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” Though we have not seen Him, we love Him; and even though we do not see Him now, we believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. 1 Peter 1:8  “Fear not, I am with thee. I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.”

"The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 2 Tim. 4:18 esv

                                                    --Pastor Burnside (adapted from his book, Glory in Tribulations)