Don’t Be Afraid (2)

‘The word of the Lord came to Abram…saying, “Do not be afraid.”’ Genesis 15:1 NKJV

Researchers have found that about forty percent of the things we worry about never happen. Thirty percent are in the past and can’t be helped. Twelve percent involve the affairs of others that are not even our business. Ten percent relate to sickness, real or imagined. That means only eight percent of the things we worry about are even likely to happen! Scientists at Yale University have actually identified a ‘worry gene’. But they say that while you may have inherited it, you can overcome it. Somebody has said that ‘worry is just interest paid on trouble before it comes due.’ And in most cases it never comes due. Think; when you worry, there’s a ninety–two percent chance you’re paying interest on a debt that’s not even yours! How foolish is that? Take the fear of flying, for example. You would have to fly every day for nineteen thousand years before the probability of being in a plane crash approaches 100%. Yet it is one of the six most feared causes of death. Someone has said that there are three hundred and sixty–five ‘fear nots’ in the Bible—one for every day of the year. When you worry, you doubt God and give the devil an entry point into your life. How long have you been doing this? When are you going to stop it? Knowing that Abraham was leaving his comfort zone and his security base, God said, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’ (Genesis 15:1 NIV) And today God’s saying the same to you.