Advent Dec 1: Fear

Advent: December 1, 2011

Fear

An angel comes to Zachariah serving in the temple. An angel comes to Mary in a small Jewish village. In both cases the angel says, “Do not be afraid.” We are afraid of things that we should fear, and we are afraid of things that we should not fear.

Natasha, one of the members of Mama Rose C’s house has some very strong fears. She has a great fear of the bush fires that are around in much of the dry season. I have seen her hysterical at school at the thought of having to walk home, when she has seen smoke in the distance. I have held her close to me as we sat on our verandah, with her eyes closed and my hands over her ears to cover the sound the bush fires make. We have no idea the reason for this strong fear. It may be based on very real experiences she had as a very small child living in the village before she came to us. As you look at her in those situations, you look into the face of fear.

What are our fears? Is the Lord trying to say to us, “Do not be afraid. I am the King of the Universe. The whole creation is mine. I really do have you in the palm of my hand.”

I know without a shadow of a doubt that God is speaking to many of us. The problem is that we aren’t listening. We don’t hear. We see the smoke far in the distance and we let fear blind us and confuse us and consume us.

This advent, may we let the Lord reveal to us our areas of fear that grip us. May we hear His voice, “Do not be afraid.” And may we pray for all the children of the world, like Natasha, who are filled with fear/terror and need deep healing before they can clearly hear the voice – “Do not be afraid.”