Will It Be “Fear This” Or “Fear Not”?

One year ago this month, the United States was shocked by one of the most tragic events in its 225 years as a nation. Four airliners filled with passengers and fuel crashed into the Twin Towers of New York’s World Trade Center, the Pentagon in Washington and a field in Pennsylvania. It has been confirmed that the latter’s target was the nation’s Capitol. This work of madmen bent on crippling the USA, instead forced peace-loving nations everywhere to confront the very real threat of worldwide terrorism.

As this tragic event was unfolding before our eyes on television, what did people fear most? Was it the actual destruction of the buildings themselves? Was it the desecration of the nation’s symbols of economic power and military might? Was it the testing of the nation’s self-confidence and self-control? Was it the loss of so many innocent lives so quickly? Was it revenge? Was it what would happen next – like the anthrax scare? Was it fear of the unknown? Was it all of the above?

During the past year, the media made sure it was the latter – “all of the above” – as they continued to report on the many and varied aspects of the aftermath of this tragic event worldwide. And while their reporting may help answer many of our questions, it also does one other thing – continues to feed our fear of future terrorist activities. According to one survey conducted recently in the USA, “fear of terrorist attacks” now tops the list of fears – and it wasn’t even on the list before 9-11-01!

So how should we react to tragic events that scream “fear this” at us? The Bible responds with “fear not” over 75 times from Genesis to Revelation. Why? Because the Lord is our shield (Gen. 15:1), our peace-bringing Savior (Lk. 2:10-14), and the Living One who controls everything from beginning to end (Rev. 1:17-18). The next time a tragic event screams “fear this” at you, respond with a confident “fear not.”

By Larry Ondrejack