As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
It’s often said that “fear not” is the most repeated command in the Bible. The claim is also made that there are 360 instances of the command, nearly one for each day of the year.
I don’t know how they arrived at that number. KJV has the phrase “fear not” more than any other English translation, and Logos finds it only 63 times. Expanding the search string to “fear not” OR “do not fear,” ESV has the largest count at only 70 occurrences.
“In their indispensable book, The Coddling of the American Mind, Haidt and… Greg Lukianoff have documented how a spirit of ‘safetyism’ (which is rooted in adult anxieties) has deeply influenced how we raise our kids.” - The Dispatch
“…the foremost fear in the U.S. (for the sixth year in a row) is fear of ‘corrupt government officials.’ It’s a fear shared by Republicans (84.6 percent) and Democrats (77.8 percent) alike… the next highest-ranking fear (‘people I love dying’) is a full 20 points lower.” - TGC
“Some people feel like we’re accelerating headlong toward a precipice, uncontrolled and uncontrollably. And on the heels of such thoughts inevitably come fear, despair, desperation, rage. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.” - Olinger
“When, like Timothy, you’re facing a challenge that seems too big for you, it’s helpful to know that … our Father has not given us a panicking kind of spirit. But it’s also helpful to know what he has given us. Paul specifies three gifts from an omnipotent, gracious, knowledgeable, and sympathetic Father.” - Olinger
“At the end of 2020, Lifeway Research asked U.S. adults which feeling they sought to avoid the most: fear, shame, or guilt. Four in 10 U.S. adults (41%) said fear, the clear winner of the three options.” - Lifeway
“For many Christians, taking precautions to avoid catching and spreading COVID-19 is embracing not a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” - Lifeway
“It seems in nearly every circle of people I am a part of, there is a palpable anxiousness right now….This is the problem with us as well. Our fears arise when we have forgotten who He is. That He’s so much bigger than whatever is worrying us. We must remind ourselves.” - Diane Heeney
“James Meikle beautifully tells us in these words. ‘Why so much complaint of death? It is true, death is the fruit of sin, for by sin, death came into the world. But it is also true, that death is the finisher of sin to the godly—for by death sin shall be cast out forever.’” - Challies
“In an uncertain and difficult year, a record number of people searched for healing, fear, and justice.” - CToday
Discussion