“Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”

Isaiah 41:10

 

There are a lot of things to be afraid of.
I feel like every day there’s another thing that is added to the list.
Guns. Aging. Cancer. Terrorism. Elections. Mental Health. Fear of the unknown.
Just those are enough, but unfortunately they are just the start of a very long list.

Today is Good Friday.
It’s a day that can seem pretty hopeless.
A day that lets fear gain a little ground.
Because for the disciples of Jesus, seeing him on that cross was the definition of hopelessness.
They could not believe what they were seeing.
And they were scared.
They were afraid they’d be killed as well.
They were afraid that they had missed something, maybe they had followed the wrong guy…

We feel this way too sometimes.
When life gets scary.
When it seems like fear is winning the day.  

This scripture from Isaiah is one of the many times in scripture that we hear the phrase “Do Not Fear” or “Do Not Be Afraid.”
Isaiah knew that on those dark days, sometimes we need the reminder that God has got us.  When we think we’ve lost the battle, we need the reminder of who will win the war.  God’s got this.
God’s got YOU.
Giving you strength, giving you help, holding you up when you cannot do it yourself.
God’s got you.

You may have heard this saying before:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love it.
I don’t know if it’s true or not- I haven’t gone through and counted.
But I don’t think it matters…
I truly, truly believe we need a daily reminder to not be afraid.
So start here with this one from Isaiah.
Memorize it. Say it out loud to start your day.
Print it out and look at it as often as you feel afraid.
And remember that no matter what it is that we fear, God is bigger.
That no matter how large and overwhelming our fear feels, God’s love is more.  

Let’s be honest – sometimes our fear feels pretty huge.
Sometimes it feels like the only option.
Sometimes it feels like it’s won the day.
But unlike the disciples, we know how the story ends.
We know that Christ rises in a few days.
The tomb will be empty.
Love will ultimately conquer death.
Fear may have us today – but love gets the last word, the final say.
Love wins.
Love always, always wins.

 

Amen.