This week on Christmas Eve, I attended a worship service like many other Christians around the world. The story of the birth of Christ was read and the verse that stood out for me was the following:

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’ (Luke 2:10).

I imagine myself in the story, and like the shepherds who are going about a normal night, when something unusual happens, they’re filled with fear–but also awe or respect filled with wonder.

In an article by Jon Bloom at https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/fear-not#modal-372-ovikifyd he gives this explanation:

“The Bethlehem shepherds were afraid of the holy angel. That’s understandable. Holy glory naturally strikes terror into the heart of sinful people. But the angel told them they did not have to fear. He was bringing them good news! Christ the Lord, their Savior, had been born in the city of his father, David.”

The command, “Fear not” or “Be Not Afraid” appears often in scripture. The exact number of times varies. Per AI, “counts vary significantly by translation and search method, ranging from around 80 -170, but the core message of overcoming fear is indeed a prominent theme, with many variations appearing throughout Scripture. Over the years, I’ve needed to hear this command many times to help me through times of a little and times of a lot of fear. I know that I’m not unique in my tendency to move quickly to fear when something is unfamiliar or seems to be asking too much of me.

The Paul Ekman Group site offers this definition of fear:

“Fear is one of the seven universal emotions experienced by everyone around the world. Fear arises with the threat of harm, either physical, emotional, or psychological, real or imagined.”

https://www.paulekman.com/universal-emotions/what-is-fear/

I like that the definition includes “real or imagined” because both feel the same in how we experience fear in our bodies.

Recently, I was talking with someone about the experience of online dating. She was surprised that as a Baby Boomer, at the age of 65 and newly divorced, I joined online dating sites. She felt that was too risky and likely a magnet for predators. I explained to her that was in 2020 when we were locked down by the pandemic and online dating was one of the few ways of meeting men. While there were restrictions with wearing masks to enter restaurants and coffee shops, and sitting at a distance, it was still possible to get to know men. Unlike dating when I was a young woman, I never rode in those guys’ cars or let them come to my house. I had few situations where I had any concern or felt a weird vibe, like she imagined.

That’s not to say that I wasn’t afraid given the awkwardness of entering the dating world after forty years of marriage. In the article by Juliette Tang, “5 Online Dating fears and How to Address Them” on the popular online dating site Zoosk (which I never tried 🙂 https://www.zoosk.com/date-mix/online-dating/5-online-dating-fears-and-how-to-overcome-them/the first fear listed is the Fear of the Unknown.

And that’s surely what you feel when you venture into the world of online dating. But eventually that still small voice inside of me said, “Think of it like you think of your solo journeys.” When I set out each day on my solo journeys I pray, “God, Bless me and the people in my path.” Later on, I come to realize what each person taught me. Online dating is surely a solo journey, and now after several years of online dating, I see how each person in that path enriched my life. Two years ago that journey ended–with me finding a relationship with a man I met in person, but all those I interacted with online helped prepare the way.

I’m thankful for the ongoing reminders, whether in the Christmas story or in articles on mental and emotional health, to not be afraid. Fear can rob us of the adventures that are waiting for us in this life.

My hope for you all is as we journey from the season that was Advent to the beginning of a New Year, that you will step forward boldly, letting go of fear.

Connie