NOTE: I’ve written about fear a number of times. Some of the most pertinent are listed and linked down at the end of this article.
We don’t want to ignore the fear signals that tell us to get out of an unsafe situation, and I’ve addressed those in other articles. But the encouraging “fear not” verses in the Bible will help us to shed inappropriate fear.
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Have you heard, as I have, that there are 365 “fear not” verses in the Bible, one for every day of the year? (And that this is supposed to help you remember to not be afraid.)
Well, that sounded a little suspect to me, so I decided to check it out. Turns out even websites like this one that claimed they were giving you all “365” fear not verses actually listed fewer than 150.
Maybe they thought no one would ever count?
So, my friends, there isn’t a “fear not” verse for every day of the year. Sorry to burst your bubble.
However, even as it is, the list includes some inconvenient ones.
The inconvenient “fear not” verses
How about Judges 4:18? That one was in the list.
That’s the verse in which the Israelite woman Jael went out to meet King Sisera and said to him, “Come, my lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent and she covered him with a blanket.
And we all know what happened next, right? (If you don’t, you can read it in Judges 4. I won’t ruin the punchline for you.)
That’s not exactly a “fear not” verse I’d want to hang on my wall.
Or I Samuel 28:13 – The king said to her, ‘Don’t be afraid. What do you see?’
Do you want to guess (from the reference) who was talking there, and to whom? I’ll give you a minute.
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That was King Saul telling the witch of Endor not to be afraid when the ghost of Samuel arose at her conjuring.
Nope, that one isn’t too encouraging either.
There are a few more like that, but you can have the fun of finding them yourself, if you feel so inclined.
Besides those kind of creepy fear not verses, what I found when I studied all the “fear not” verses in the Bible was encouraging . . . in a couple of ways.
For one thing, I’ve thought a lot about the people who feel guilty for their fear, and how the weight of “fear not” hangs over them when they continue having panic attacks or nameless anxieties. I think looking closely at the fear not Scriptures really can help relieve that guilt instead of simply increasing it.
Also, when you look closely at the “fear not” Scriptures, you’ll see that when our Lord speaks to people who are afraid, He doesn’t treat their fear like a sin. He treats it more like an injury. “Here, let me make this better.”
For another thing, many of the “fear not” Scriptures, viewed in context can give us insight into the heart of God for His people.
And that’s encouraging.
So, when I do a word or subject study, I organize all the verses into categories that makes sense to me. When I studied all the “fear not” (or “do not be afraid”) verses in the Bible, I organized them according to who the speaker was and who he or she was speaking to.
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A few of my other blog posts that ponder fear.
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Go here to download your free Guide, How to Enjoy the Bible Again (when you’re ready) After Spiritual Abuse (without feeling guilty or getting triggered out of your mind). You’ll receive access to both print and audio versions of the Guide (audio read by me). I’m praying it will be helpful.
I might just be re-reading this one every night for the foreseeable future. It speaks deeply into my fearful heart
Thank You Rebecca for your faithful study and willingness to share what you learn.
I’m so thankful for that! Once I sorted through the weeds, I found a lot of encouragement for my own soul too. I pray your fearful heart will find great peace, Quietrunner, either bit by bit, or all at once. He is faithful.
Thanks so much for this post. It really helps. I wish I could put things into words better right now but I am too stressed at the moment. Thanks again.
I pray that if you don’t already know, you’ll be able to figure out the source of the stress and take appropriate action, whatever that may be.
Thank you for your hard work searching and thinking through how God sees us and feels about us in relation to fear we experience, and how we navigate it. I feel assured of God’s acceptance, love, and faithfulness!!!
Yes, me too!
Thank you for this post. I like how you compare fear like an injury that must be healed. I’ve also wondered if it’s right to take the words that were used and given for someone else in the Bible and take them as our own personal message or mission. This is the first time I’ve read someone actually mentioning that issue. Many people use the word of God, specially psalms, old testament quotes and use single verses out of context as focus points to dispel fear, encourage or even show faith. How do we approach this?
This post addresses the way to approach it the best I know how. If you’re asking how do we speak to others about having a different way of interpreting the Bible, my best answer is simply to let them know that you try to interpret it historically. I have found few Christians who agree with me on this point, but the ones who do are very grateful for it.
can you please make like a pdf list of all the times it says it?
thank you.
Those lists are available online–I linked to one of them in this post.
Are you an atheist? You have to be for discrediting the Bible and the true meaning of the Bible
No, I’m not an atheist. I love and serve the Lord God Most High, the true Lord Jesus Christ. As His child and a student of His Word, I want to understand the Bible in context, and I talk about these things on this blog and in my books.
Maybe the Lord led me here this morning…I am way too busy atm, but I like what I’ve read, and quickly saw your blog. I too am trying to untwist the Scriptures. Please pray for me and I’ll check back with your blog when I have some more time. God bless you!
Thank you for visiting, Rich, and I pray that the Lord will help you untwist the Scriptures.
A young lady in my Bible study group has a brother who may commit suicide. Always asking for prayer for him as he is suffering depression. But he will not listen to the Word of God. Dismisses it as worthless. I pray Mark 11:24 and Ezekiel 36:25-27 for him because God’s word will not return to HIM void. I have prayed for him since 2022 mid-September and God has not called him. Maybe he is not predestined? Romans 8:30
I would hate to think that “not being predestined” would keep a man from being able to cry out to God for salvation. I pray that the light will shine through his deep depression, blindness, and perhaps hardness of heart.
Thank you for this post. It is very comforting and enlightening as someone who has felt condemned and ashamed of my fear. I’ve avoided God because of it too. Thank you very much.
So glad to hear it’s helpful. This article was edited into one chapter of this book: https://amzn.to/3n1B9QJ
In that book, I examine fear throughout the Bible and delineate different kinds of fear, showing what can be helpful and what can be harmful. I hope it’s encouraging for you!
Thank you for this and what you do Rebecca. Last year I was working at a camp as an assistant cook. All the staff needed to have a bird name. I worked there to go into hiding from my spouse and pastor so that I could have peace and rest for the summer and to grieve the loss of my marriage. I did not know which bird name to choose, but as I got lost the one day getting to the camp and dealing with deep rejection, I landed on Sparrow Lane. Thought to myself huh that is a bird. Looked it up and they were not special but lovely. I then heard the song in my head, “His eye is on the Sparrow and I know He watches me,” I then looked up Matthew 10 and to my astonishment God spoke to my heart through Matthew 10:16-39. All of it was applicable to my circumstances. I was afraid at the time, my adult children were attacking me about leaving and hiding, I was fearful of court, I was a sheep amidst the wolves. Then verse 31, Fear not therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows. Verse above says about two sparrows are worth a penny. At that moment I realized I meant the world to God even though I meant nothing to the world. In my Bible last year July 2nd I wrote, “I am God’s little sparrow and that became my camp name. Every time the kids called me Sparrow, I was reminded of who I was, valued and precious to God and to not be afraid. I may be going to court soon. Pray for me.
This is so beautiful, Amy. I’m so thankful the Lord gave you that name, and I pray that the court issues can be resolved.
Wow, what a bold attack! There are many people in our lives that interpret the scriptures while teaching us and leading us in God’s way. IE, parents, grandparents, pastors, teachers,etc. Scriptures are sharper than a two-edged sword, She must have gotten stabbed and needs prayer.
In my estimation, it’s 146 verses. So do it a second time to see how that works. That will bring you up to 292 days and it will reinforce your knowledge of those verses. That leaves you 73 (74 leap year) days to pick out your favorites to do a third time. Read in context always. Know which fear God is addressing. And find joy in the “fear not” journey.