Do Not Fear!

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” (Matthew 27:1-10 ESV).

 

The first words the angels said to the women after Jesus rose from the dead were: “Don’t be afraid!” The first words Jesus spoke after He rose from the dead to the women were: “Don’t be afraid!” And, the first words the disciples heard Jesus say when he met them as a group were: “Don’t be afraid!” That’s the message of Easter! Don’t be afraid! Jesus is alive! Fear has a lot of names. Worry, tension, anxiety and stress are a few nicknames for fear. Fear is no small thing. Too much stress caused by anxiety and worry can even be life-threatening. Jesus knew this was the principle message every believer needs. Throughout the Bible we see that love and fear are opposites. They can’t operate together. When love dominates your life, fear is expelled.

 

Our most profound need in life is to feel completely, totally, unconditionally loved, not for something we could be or should be, but to be enjoyed and adored just as we are. And the cross proves that’s exactly how Jesus loves us. You don’t have to be afraid, because not only does God love you, but Jesus died and rose again just for you. Even when you fell a loss of power or that your life is out of your control, we have the proof that Jesus has already won the victory over every circumstance. I often hear people say things like, “I feel powerless to change the situation… I feel powerless to break this bad habit… I feel powerless to save my relationship… I feel powerless to get out of debt… I feel powerless to manage my time and my schedule…” The truth is, you were never meant to live this life on your own power. God longs to have a relationship with you, and His resurrection gives you the power you need to succeed in every area of your life. His resurrection power gives you the ability to fight back fear with the unconditional love of Christ. He has risen!