These are crazy and perilous times and a lot of people are afraid of the coronavirus. Whether you believe in God or not, we should all be smart and careful. But the Bible says not to fear 365 times.
Coincidence?
No. It isn’t a coincidence. God told us not to fear enough times so that we could say it once every day and still be quoting a different verse from the Bible. The more something is repeated, the more important it is and the more you repeat it to yourself, the more your mind memorizes it.
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10.
“For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘fear not, I will help you.’” Isaiah 41:13.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you; not as the world gives do I give ot you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:34
“But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: ‘fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and though the rivers, they shall not overflow you. when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.’” Isaiah 43:1
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4
“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 created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1
“Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7
“The Lord is on my side; I will not fear, what can man do to me?” Psalm 118:6
“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6
“Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. in God (I will praise His word) in God I have put my trust; I will not fear, what can flesh do to me?” Psalm 56:3-4
“Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore. For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called The God of the whole earth.” Isaiah 54:4-5
“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28
“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” Hebrews 13:5-6
“For you did not receive the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’” Romans 8:15
We just looked at eighteen verses in the Bible that tells us not to be afraid, but I want to focus and talk about the last two.
For we have not received a Spirit of bondage again to fear. This means that we are no longer slaves to fear! Why would you want to allow yourself to be taken captive by your fear? To live in constant fear and worry and anxiety, always looking to the future and seeing it without God’s Presence.
But we have received the Spirit of adoption. God has adopted us as His own children, which is why we don’t have to be afraid! We can cry out to Him and call him Father!
Because He is our Heavenly Father and a Father always protects His children!
Yet, this world focuses on idols and greed—wanting things for ourselves. We love social media and selfies, living in a world of instant entertainment. Now that that world has been put on hold, where are we? Everyone is terrified and bored and feels as if their lives are over. Be content with the things that you have.
You have your lives and your families. Spend time with them during this time. God will use the coronavirus for good but some good has already come of it. It has paused this instant, internet, greedy society and forced it to stay at home with their families and spend time with them for once.
God Himself has said that He will never leave us nor forsake us. That doesn’t mean He’ll only be with us for a few years, or whenever He feels like it. He doesn’t take a day off or leave on vacation. God is with us and will always be with us, coronavirus or no coronavirus.
We need to quit acting like He has left us. The truth is: He has been with us all along! We are the ones who have left Him, as a society, as a culture, as a world.
Now, we need to pray, to ban together and boldly declare, ”The Lord is our Helper. We will not fear. What can man, what can the coronavirus, do to us?”