Christmas Hope That Banishes Fear

Fear has been an ongoing struggle for me. In my childhood, I was afraid of the dark, thunderstorms, howling wind, losing my mom or dad, a criminal invading our home….you name it! Now that I’m older I still have to fight being fearful but the fears are different – finances, health, conflicts, aging.  Can you relate?

Did you know that four times throughout the Christmas story, the angel Gabriel says, “’Do not be afraid”?  Granted, it’s because he has just appeared, and Gabriel is a fearsome sight!  But each time he says don’t be afraid, he gives a REASON, a hope-filled promise to help dispel the fear.  You likely do this with your children.  You don’t just say, “Stop being afraid! Just stop!”  You comfort them with: “I’m here.  I’ll protect you.  You don’t have to be afraid.  God is with you, and He’s watching over you.”

Likewise, we need to hear these promises from Gabriel to comfort and calm our anxious hearts.

Do Not Be Afraid, Zechariah

First, from Luke 1.  The priest Zechariah is in the temple when right next to the altar of incense, Gabriel appears.  Zechariah is greatly troubled and “fear fell upon him.”  The angel says, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth…”

Do not be afraid…why? Your prayer has been heard.  We don’t know exactly how old Elizabeth was when she became pregnant with John the Baptist but the Bible tells us she was past childbearing years – we can only guess, in her 70s? 60s?  I wonder how many years they prayed for a child – 10 years? 20 years? 30 years? Wondering if God heard, if God cared?  He did, and He does. 

We don’t have to fear because God hears our prayers, and He will fill us with joy and gladness.

Psalm 66:17-20 says, “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.  But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.”

“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers.” (I Peter 3:12)

“In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help.  From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.” (Psalm 18:6)

God is attentive to us.  He does not ignore our cries of distress.  He listens.  He hears.  And He answers according to His perfect plan and in His perfect timing.

Do Not Be Afraid, Mary

In the second instance, the angel Gabriel travels to the city of Nazareth and appears to a young peasant girl, just 15 or 16 years old.  From Luke 1:30, “And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.”

Although the promise to bear the Son of God was for Mary only, notice the first phrase: you have found favor with God.  The word “favor” is from the Greek word charis, meaning grace, goodwill, undeserved kindness.

That truth does not just apply to Mary.  If you are saved, God has shown you His favor.  “It is by grace – charis – you have been saved.”  (Ephesians 2:8)

John 1:16 says, “Out of His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.” 

If you are in Christ, you are His, He has shown you His lovingkindness, and He daily lavishes grace on you. You have found favor with God.

Joseph, Do Not Fear

The angel appears to Zechariah, then to Mary, next to Joseph.  Joseph is pondering if he should divorce Mary because of her pregnancy (“betrothed” were considered husband and wife even though they were not living together).  “But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:  Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.” (Matthew 1)

What is the promise for Joseph?  This is from the Holy Spirit.  What’s happening in your life is of God.  It is all taking place in order to fulfill His perfect plan. 

Does this promise apply to us? Yes. Whatever is happening in your life that may not make one lick of sense….God is in control.  This is all part of His plan.  Not a sparrow falls to the ground without God’s permission.  Proverbs 16 says we plan out our lives, but the Lord establishes our steps.  Psalm 119 says His judgments - His decisions, His plans - are always righteous.  Trust Him.  Don’t be afraid. 

Shepherds, Fear Not

Last, the shepherds are out in the fields minding their own business, watching over the sheep.  “And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2)

Notice the two parallel phrases: great fear…great joy.  Parallel phrases yet opposites.  The shepherds are filled with great fear and the angel says, No, no, fear is the wrong response.  What is the key that helps them shift from great fear to great joy?  It is the good news. 

Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.”  The key that unlocks a treasure chest of joy and peace – the antithesis of fear - is believing the good news. 

What good news?  Oh, so much! Jesus has been born.  He is the Savior!  He is Christ, the promised Deliverer.  And He is the Lord.

And there’s more good news. 

• When you're tempted to believe God doesn't hear those prayers you’ve been praying for years and He must not care…He hears your cries and is answering your prayers – in His perfect time and according to His perfect plan. 

• If you’re a believer, you - like Mary - have found favor with God.  He has chosen you to be His, pours out His grace upon you each day, and looks at you not with anger or condemnation but with love and acceptance. 

• Those things you don’t understand in your life, dreams and plans that have been derailed, circumstances that just don’t make sense….God is completely in control behind the scenes.  He is always at work for our good and His glory.  Lysa Terkeurst says it like this:  “God is good, God is good to me, and God is good at being God.”  We can trust Him, our kind and faithful God. 

• And the good news of Jesus – His birth, His death, His resurrection, His character, His promises – should deliver us from fear and fill us with great joy.

Have you ever thought about the progression in Luke 2:10 - good news of great joy?  I would have swapped those adjectives and said, “This is GREAT news leading to a GOOD amount of joy.” But God’s messenger declared it this way – and it’s in holy, inspired, forever-settled Scripture - God does not want us to be afraid.  Instead He wants us to be filled with another emotion:  joy – abundant, overflowing from our hearts, and indestructible.

The key is believing the good news.  It is for you so you personally live unafraid, experiencing the peace and joy of Jesus.  And the good news is for all people so they live unafraid, experiencing the peace and joy of Jesus. 

John Piper, in his advent devotional Good News of Great Joy, said:

“The reason Christ became man was to die.  Good Friday is the purpose of Christmas.  And in dying, Christ de-fanged the devil.  How?  By covering all our sin.  Satan’s ultimate weapon against us is our own sin.  If the death of Jesus takes it away, the chief weapon of the devil is taken out of his hand.  He cannot make a case for our death penalty, because the judge has acquitted us by the death of His Son. 

So we are free from the fear of death…and God means for our ultimate safety to have an immediate effect on our lives.  He means for the happy ending to take away the slavery and fear of the now.

If we do not need to fear our last and greatest enemy, death, then we do not need to fear anything.  We can be free.  Free for joy.  Free for others.

What a great Christmas present from God to us!  And from us to the world!”

Christ came to banish fear and fill us with great joy. May this Christmas season find you embracing these truths with all your heart, empowering you to live with courage, hope, and abundant joy.