It has been said that there are 365 ‘fear not’s in the Bible, one for everyday of the year. Others have searched and found only 100. Whatever, the number, it is a powerful promise from God…even if it appeared only once, it still stands as an AWESOME comfort for us.

Here are some of my favorite ‘do not fear’ and ‘do not be afraid’ verses from Genesis to Revelation:

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. ” – Genesis 15:1

And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.” – Genesis 26:24

So He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. – Genesis 46:3

And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” – Exodus 20:20

Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the LORD God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged.’ – Deuteronomy 1:21

And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” – Deuteronomy 31:8

Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.” – Joshua 10:25

Then the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” – Judges 6:23

And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman. – Ruth 3:11

Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. – 1 Samuel 12:20

So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.” – 2 Samuel 9:7

So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” – 2 Kings 6:16

And David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. – 1 Chronicles 28:20

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 56:4

The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? – Psalm 118:6

Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.” – Isaiah 35:4

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. – Isaiah 41:10

For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. – Isaiah 41:13

Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.’” – Isaiah 44:8

“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. – Isaiah 54:4

“But do not fear, O My servant Jacob, And do not be dismayed, O Israel! For behold, I will save you from afar, And your offspring from the land of their captivity; Jacob shall return, have rest and be at ease; No one shall make him afraid. – Jeremiah 46:27

Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. – Daniel 10:12

Do not lose heart or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land; one rumor comes this year, another the next, rumors of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler. – Jeremiah 51:46

‘According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’ – Haggai 2:5

So again in these days I am determined to do good To Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear. – Zechariah 8:15

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. – Matthew 1:20

Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. – Matthew 10:26

Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. – Matthew 10:31

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. – Matthew 28:5

But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. – Luke 12:7

But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. – Luke 1:13

But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. – Luke 1:3

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. – Luke 2:10

“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. – Luke 12:4

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. – Luke 12:32

“Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” – John 12:15

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. – John 14:27

But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear ; do not be frightened.” – 1 Peter 3:14

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. – Revelation 1:17

Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. – Revelation 2:10

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“…the disciples were finding fault with each other because they had forgotten to bring bread. Jesus overheard and said, “Why are you fussing because you forgot bread? Don’t you see the point of all this? Don’t you get it at all? Remember the five loaves I broke for the five thousand? How many baskets of leftovers did you pick up?”

They said, “Twelve.”

“And the seven loaves for the four thousand—how many bags full of leftovers did you get?”

“Seven.”

He said, “Do you still not get it?”

What an interesting question from Jesus, “Do you still not get it?” In other versions the wording is, “are your hearts hardened?” It’s clear, from these miracles, they were supposed to understand something but they had completely missed it. They were right there in the middle of miracles and missed the purpose of it all!

A little earlier in Mark, as they struggled with the oars on the lake, Jesus came to them walking on the water and said to them, “Courage! It’s me. Don’t be afraid.” In that brief statement is the thing they were supposed to get. It’s right there in the middle of three short statements. Between his admonition to take courage and “don’t be afraid” is the “secret” they (and we) are to get. Here it is- “It’s me!” In the English we miss it entirely, but in the Greek it’s once more a declaration of who he is, the very thing they were to learn from all the miracles.

“It’s me.” The two Greek words are ??? ????. In English Jesus is saying “I am”. It’s the same claim he made in John 8:58 and was nearly stoned for. It’s the same name God told Moses to use to describe himself in Exodus 3. It’s a claim to deity. As he walked on the water to these weary fishermen Jesus encouraged them. Between their lack of courage and their fears he reassured them with this- “I am” is here.

Some say that Jesus never claimed to be God, but standing on the sea of Galilee he proclaims it loud and clear, “Take courage, I’m God, don’t be afraid.” It’s the same thing he says to us, the same thing he wants us to know, because he’s God we can be courageous and abandon our fears. God is in our midst.

Visit Mike at Finishing Well.

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@spreadingJOY lover of the little things that make life big, Marie knows that every once in a while, you need to be strengthened, encouraged and inspired.  For extra encouragement, a few smiles and lots of {HUGS} follow her on twitter.

2 Cor 7:3  I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.

2 Cor 4:15  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  [18]  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Cor 12:7  To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, * a messenger of Satan, to torment me.  [8]  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  [9]  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power * is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  [10]  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, * in persecutions, * in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Phil 4:13  I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

What road are you traveling? You are either in the storm, just come through the storm or at some point, you will be headed towards the storm.

The storms are raging, the battle is long. What can you do?

Renew your strength. Remember who carries you.  Surround yourself with scripture that reminds you of how God carried others time and time again.  He is the same God that parted the Red Sea for Moses! You are standing at the shore, wondering how you’ll ever cross over.  It looks hopeless and the enemy is not far behind you.  The battle rages on.

Isaiah 40:31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Keep schoochin closer to the Lord when you are weak.  He will carry you through to the other side, even though he could part the waters for you and let you walk across.  Rest in his arms, knowing you are safe, sound and nothing happens to you, that God does not allow it. In your times of weakness, you’ll want to just remove yourself from everyone, and everything.  This is the most important time to pray without ceasing, stay knee deep in the Bible and keep pressing towards the prize! All others to lift you up in prayer. Do not remove yourself from those that can bring joy, laughter and smiles to your day.

Your journey will allow you to strengthen and encourage someone else, when they walk down the same road.  The times your heart was breaking, will be what strengthens and encourages someone else that is now facing that same journey.

Are you willing to help them, encourage them?  Yes, the road is long, yes the nights are long, the tears sting your cheeks and your heart feels as though it will never be complete again. Remember the strength from the Lord is everlasting. Draw from Him. Keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Have the courage to get up one more time!

{{{HUGS}}} Yall

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