FEAR NOT: THE CHRISTMAS WORD THAT CHASES AWAY THE DARK
Fear is older than Bethlehem.
It did not begin in a manger—it began in a garden.
The first time fear is named in Scripture, it is spoken by a fallen man hiding among the trees: “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid” (Genesis 3:10). Fear entered the human story the moment trust was broken. Before sin, there was no need to hide; before guilt, there was no dread of God. Fear is not native to creation—it is a trespasser.
That is why the message of Christmas is not Try harder or Be better; it is Fear not.
When heaven breaks its long silence, it does so with a word aimed straight at the human heart. An angel stands before a trembling priest, and says, “Do not be afraid” (Luke 1:13). Another appears to a young virgin, and says, “Do not be afraid, Mary” (Luke 1:30). Then, on a cold Judean night, the sky itself fills with glory, and the shepherds are “greatly afraid”—and the angel says, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy” (Luke 2:10).
Christmas begins with fear—but it does not end there.
It is often noted that the Bible gives us a “fear not” for every day of the year; whether counted precisely or not, the trend is unmistakable. God speaks against fear again and again because fear is the native language of fallen humanity—and faith must be learned.
The Bible does not deny fear’s presence; it denies fear’s authority.
Consider the chorus of God’s Word:
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God” (Isaiah 41:10).
“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1).
“When I am afraid, I will trust in You” (Psalm 56:3).
“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18).
“Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Matthew 10:28).
Fear is not always sinful—but it is always revealing. It shows us what we believe God to be like, and what we believe the future to hold.
This is why Revelation speaks so soberly about fear. “But the cowardly, unbelieving…shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire” (Revelation 21:8). Fear is not condemned there as a momentary emotion, but as a settled posture of unbelief. The word cowardly describes those who shrink back from truth, who refuse the light, who choose self-preservation over surrender. It is not fear as a feeling that damns—but fear as a lord.
Christmas confronts that lord.
The Child in the manger is God stepping into our terror without flinching. He does not shout “Fear not” from a distance; He whispers it from inside the human condition. He takes on flesh that can tremble, lungs that can gasp, a heart that will one day beat hard in Gethsemane. Yet even there, fear does not rule Him—faith does.
And because He entered our fear, fear no longer gets the final word.
The angels did not say Fear not because nothing frightening would ever happen. They said it because “there is born to you this day…a Savior” (Luke 2:11). Fear loses its grip not when danger disappears, but when God draws near.
So Christmas teaches us to name our fear—and then lay it down. Fear of the future. Fear of loss. Fear of judgment. Fear of being known. Fear that whispers God cannot be trusted.
Into all of it, heaven still speaks: Fear not.
Not because the world is safe—but because Christ has come.
Not because death is gone—but because death will be defeated.
Not because we are strong—but because Emmanuel is with us.
And when fear rises again—as it surely will—we return to the manger, and remember that the God who came once will come again, saying “Fear not” to His people.
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Lord Jesus, You entered a fearful world with peace in Your hands; teach my heart to trust where it trembles, to believe where it hides, and to rest in Your nearness. Cast out every fear that competes with faith, and let Your perfect love rule my days—today, and every day. Amen.
BDD
