“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Did you notice in verse 10 the message the angel of the Lord brought to the shepherds? “Do not be afraid” was part of their message. I am sure that any of us would be somewhat startled by an angel of the Lord appearing to us and the glory of the Lord shining all around us. We might assume that we were having a close encounter of the third kind.

Do not be afraid was a common theme to many of the Christmas characters. The angel said to Zechariah, “Do not be afraid” (Luke 1:13). The angel also repeated this exact message to Mary (Luke 2:30) and to Joseph (Matthew 1:20). As you can see there was a lot of fear in the lives of those closely associated with the birth of Christ.

Living of life of fear is the exact opposite of living expectantly. Fearful living is a natural way to live when one doesn’t know what the future holds. Or the fear of being found out for some little deceit, or the fear of dying and meeting a holy God face to face.

But even though it’s natural God sends Jesus with the word, “Don’t be afraid”. Hebrews 2:15 says that Jesus came to “free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” Doesn’t that verse imply something tremendously liberating for our daily lives? If the worst fear, the fear of death, has been taken away through the death and resurrection of Christ, then surely God doesn’t want us to fear the lesser things in life: job insecurity, being rejected by friends, not enough time to complete projects, meeting new people etc… The message to the shepherds was “Don’t be afraid. I bring good news of great joy that will be for all people.”

You see, in the place of fear Jesus brings joy. Joyful living is expectant living. Joyless faith in Jesus Christ is a contradiction of terms. Anyone who has a faith encounter with Jesus should respond joyfully. Just like the shepherds. “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” (Luke 2:20). There is joy rooted in God’s gift of Christ for all who encounter Him. Let joyful living be the theme of your life this Christmas season.

What do the following verses teach you about living a life of joy rather than fear?

• Psalm 27:1-5
• Isaiah 41:10
• Matthew 6:25-34
• Philippians 4:4-8