But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created you, Jacob,
    he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine...

…Do not be afraid, for I am with you;

It has been said that ”Fear not” is the most frequently repeated command in the Bible. Probably we need its repetition because we are so prone to fear. If we can fully grasp the implications of the gospel, we will understand that believers really have nothing to fear, not in any ultimate sense. But living as frail, flawed people in a fallen world, we are likely to have to fight in order to live fear-free. However, we are not alone in our struggle. There is a part of Zechariah’s ‘Benedictus’ that we didn’t really focus on when we read it recently:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors
    and to remember his holy covenant,
73     the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
    and to enable us to serve him without fear
75     in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. (Luke 1:68-75).

Whatever God commands He also enables. If He says to do (or not do) something, He will help us, if we trust Him.

‘Fear knocked at the door; faith answered, and there was nobody there.’