God’s Got This! – 5 Lessons from Exodus 14:12-14Sample

Day 2. “Fear not.” 

The admonition not to fear is found in the Bible more than 80 times. Often we find it is the immediate utterance of an angel when he appears to a person.

One example is when the angel Gabriel encountered Mary to let her know that she would be the “favored one,” the mother of Jesus. Here is what he said: “And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God’ ” (Luke 1:30). 

Another example is when the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds who were watching their flocks by night to let them know of Jesus’ birth. His first words were: “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10). 

It’s also the first thing that Moses, whom God used to lead the Hebrews out of Egyptian slavery, said to the horde of Hebrews who cried out to him in fear. 

No doubt Moses did a quick “cry out” to God when confronted by the Hebrews, for he had a word from the Lord that is encouragement for us today when our backs are against the wall: “Fear not” (Exodus 14:13a). 

How could they—and how can we—turn fear to faith? One way is to remember where we came from. If only the Hebrews had looked back upon the miraculous way that God freed them from slavery—each one of the 10 plagues of Egypt! If only we can focus our attention on God’s miraculous rescue of us when, by the blood of our Passover Lamb Jesus, we were saved!  

When your back is up against a wall, the second step of faith in affirming that “God’s got this!” is to “fear not”!