Genesis 15:1 (NIV)

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram.  I am your shield, your very great reward.”

Our podcast theme for the month of June is Be Not Afraid, which is also frequently stated as Do Not Fear. 

Writers have identified these phrases occurring in scriptures 365 times and have written daily devotions such that every day of the year, a portion of scripture with these words can be used for contemplation and meditation.  We are not going to attempt to cover every one of these verses but a representative sample such that we become familiar with the concept when we encounter it in our study of God’s Word.

Genesis 15:1 is the first place in scripture where the phrase is found and depending on which translation you read, it may say either “Do not be afraid” or “Do not fear.”  In this particular verse, the phrase comes at the beginning of a message given within a vision.  As I read through scripture, the phrase seems to mostly be an introduction from either a vision or the appearance of an angel.  In either case, the phrase precedes a message.

For most of my life, I associated Do Not Be Afraid with the appearance of the angel.  If I had an angel suddenly appear in front of me with or without a flaming sword, you better believe I would be afraid!  In all likelihood, the phrase Do Not Be Afraid would have to be yelled because I would be running away.

The more I read scripture, the more I realize I am not being challenged to accept the messenger but instead, to not fear the message itself.  It is not in God’s nature to ask us to do things that we can already do.  Instead, it has been my experience that God says do not be afraid, but I am going to ask you to do something you don’t think you can do.  In fact, you probably cannot do it on your own but Do Not Fear because I will be with you.  With your faith in God, you can achieve more than you ever thought possible.

I offer you this prayer: 

Lord, teach me not to fear when you ask me to do something that I don’t think I can do.  Open my eyes and heart to see that you are present with me through all trials when I place my faith in you.  Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Owen Ragland.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.