The echo of your cry has reached heaven, and the Lord has inclined His ear. But hear what the Spirit says to the trembling heart: “Fear not, thou worm Jacob; I will help thee, saith the Lord.” Your safety is not in your own pleading, though it be fervent, but in the promise of the God who cannot lie. You cry, “Keep me safe,” and well you may, for you are but a worm and no man, weak and exposed. Yet the Strong One, the Almighty, has pledged Himself to be your shield. Why, then, does fear so grip your spirit? Fear not; for fear is weakening. It unstrings the bow and makes the hands hang down when they should be lifted in conflict. Fear dishonors God, for it suspects the arm that upholds the heavens will fail you. O traitorous fear! Shall the Eternal forget His child? Shall the Rock of Ages crumble? Never. Jesus Himself, who touched the frightened disciple with His right hand, whispers now to you, “Fear not.” It is disobedience to nurse such terror when the Master says, “Let not your heart be troubled.”
Consider this: the fear that would overwhelm you is a plant that grows in nature’s soil, but it must be uprooted by grace. I do not bid you to be careless, or to presume upon tomorrow; a holy caution is wisdom. But a gripping dread, a constant trembling, this is a snare. It brings you into bondage, making you subject to fear all your lifetime. And for what? Has the Lord not said, “I will help thee”? His help is not a half-hearted thing. It is the help of the only wise God our Saviour, who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. Your safety lies not in your own watchfulness, but in Him. Look to Jesus. As your faith grows stronger, your fears will melt like the morning mist. If you are in Christ, forgiven and washed, then the very hairs of your head are numbered, and no harm can touch you but by your Father’s permission, and that permission is always love.
You speak of being scared. I ask you, is there a reason for this terror? Search your life; let this fear drive you to your knees, as it did Jacob, to review your ways and cling to the covenant. But then, having cast your burden upon the Lord, rise and say, “I am immortal till my work is done.” If danger threatens, if men or devils roar against you, remember Jerusalem, the city of our God, and let fellowship with Jesus make you bold. The worst they can do is to send you sooner to the place where fear is forever banished. You fear harm? Oh, but the harm that you dread may be the very path to blessing. Your Father knows. Trust His promised strength. Be not dismayed. The precept is absolute: “Fear not.” Let no qualifying word soften it; He means, fear not at all. Instead, let there be in you a holy, reverent fear of God, a fear born of forgiveness, a loving awe that keeps you from sin. That fear will drive out the tormenting fear of all else. Take this promise as a staff to lean upon: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God.” Go your way in peace; the Lord has heard your cry, and your safety is in the pierced hand.