Author: Gary Witcher
Company: none

Fear Not: Physical (Economic, Health, Disaster)

	In Luke chapter seven Jesus encounters a funeral procession.
	"And He came up and touched the coffin;" Luke 7:14-16 observes, "and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, 'Young man, I say to you, arise!'  And the dead man sat up, and began to speak.  And {Jesus} gave him back to his mother.  And fear gripped them all, and they {began} glorifying God, saying, 'A great prophet has arisen among us!' and, 'God has visited His people!'"
	As this verse indicates, the actions of Jesus sometimes result in people being afraid.
	Two chapters earlier Jesus is interrupted by the presence of a paralyzed man who has been lowered through the roof by his friends.  The Pharisees react negatively when Jesus tells the man that his sins have been forgiven.  So the Lord does something which is easier for those around Him to see.
	"'But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,'" we read in Luke 5:24-26, "-- He said to the paralytic-- 'I say to you, rise, and take up your stretcher and go home.'  And at once he rose up before them, and took up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. And they were all seized with astonishment and {began} glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, 'We have seen remarkable things today.'"
	"And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea," Matthew 14:25-27 records of another incident.  "And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were frightened, saying, 'It is a ghost!' And they cried out for fear."
	The presence of deity on earth is bound to result in frightening experiences.  But the purpose of Christ's coming to earth is not to create fear.  In fact, His goal is precisely the opposite.  He wants to ease our fears.  This is apparent in the next verse in the account about walking on the water.
	"But immediately Jesus spoke to them," this verse states, "saying, 'Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.'"
	Jesus came to ease our fear of physical problems in the form of material or economic difficulties.
	Four of the apostles are fishermen before following Jesus. At the beginning of His ministry, the Lord encounters them after an especially unproductive outing.
	"Put out into the deep water,"  He tells Peter in Luke 5:4, "and let down your nets for a catch." 
	"Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing," Peter replies in the next verse, "but at Your bidding I will let down the nets." 
	"And when they had done this," the passage continues, "they enclosed a great quantity of fish; and their nets {began} to break; and they signaled to their partners in the other boat, for them to come and help them.  And they came, and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.  But when Simon Peter saw {that,} he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!'  For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, 'Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.'"
	Notice what Jesus says to these men.  He says, "Do not fear."  He has just shown them that He is able to take care of their physical needs.  They should not be afraid, then, to follow Him.  He is able to provide.
	Now, this does not mean that Jesus is going to balance our checkbooks for us.  But it does mean that we should not allow material or economic concerns to stand in the way of our service to Him.  Jesus came to relieve our fear.  He will provide if we will follow Him.
	"Do not be anxious for {your} life," Jesus urges in Luke 12:22-32, "{as to} what you shall eat; nor for your body, {as to} what you shall put on.  For life is more than food, and the body than clothing.  Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; and they have no storeroom nor barn; and {yet} God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!  And which of you by being anxious can add a {single} cubit to his life's span?  If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why are you anxious about other matters?  Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these.  But if God so arrays the grass in the field, which is {alive} today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more {will He clothe} you, O men of little faith!  And do not seek what you shall eat, and what you shall drink, and do not keep worrying.  For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things.  But seek for His kingdom, and these things shall be added to you.  Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom."

	Jesus came to ease our fear of physical problems in the form of material or economic difficulties.  He also came to relieve our fear of physical problems related to our health.
	"While He was still speaking," we note in Luke 8:49-50, "someone came from {the house of} the synagogue official, saying, 'Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.' But when Jesus heard {this,} He answered him, 'Do not be afraid {any longer;} only believe, and she shall be made well.'"
	Notice what Jesus says to this father.  He says, "Do not be afraid."  Once again, this does not mean that Jesus is going to provide an instant cure for all our ailments.  But we need to understand that He is more powerful than any sickness or disease. He also assists in decreasing our fear of health problems by helping us see them in the proper perspective. 
	Jesus doesn't want us to be afraid of material or economic problems.  He doesn't want us to be afraid of illness or disease. 
	Jesus also came to ease our fear of physical problems in the form of natural disasters.  We seem to have a lot of these lately, don't we?  As Paul is being taken to Rome, the ship encounters a terrible storm.   Most of those on board are certain that all will be lost at sea.
	"Do not be afraid, Paul;" is the message in Acts 27:24, "you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you."
	Floods, earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes are devastating.  But God is more powerful than all of these combined.
	Jesus came to ease our fear of physical problems.  This doesn't suggest, though, that we should be irresponsible with our resources or our bodies.
	"For even when we were with you," Paul notes in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, "we used to give you this order: if anyone will not work, neither let him eat."
	"But if anyone does not provide for his own," 1 Timothy 5:8 warns, "and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever."
	"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you," 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reminds us, "whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?  For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body."
	We must note, too, that there is a difference between respectful fear and irrational fear.  We should not not fear God. That is, we must respect Him.
	In Luke 18:4 Jesus tells a parable about a judge who is not sensitive to the pleas of a widow.  This judge is described as someone who does not fear God.
	"Do you not even fear God," one thief rebukes the other in Luke 23:40, "since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?"
	We must be responsible, and we must respect God.  But Jesus came to relieve our fear of physical problems.  He tells us, over and over again, "Don't be afraid."  This is because He loves us. And He wants us to share this same love for Him. 
	"There is no fear in love;" we learn from 1 John 4:18-19 "but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.  We love, because He first loved us. 
	Isn't that something?  Jesus wants us to be free.  That includes freedom from fear.  All we have to do is obey the truth, and we will be set free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.lockman.org)