Every few years, this idea makes another trip around the internet. It’s the idea that the Bible says 365 times, “Do Not Fear.” And, like many of us do, I just listened and accepted the information the first few times I heard it. I may have even passed the information on to a few people along the way.
But the last time the idea made the rounds, I had a couple of thoughts. My first thought was that I should write a song about how God gives us one command of “do not fear” for every day of the year, and how Christians shouldn’t be living in constant fear. Then I thought, “Hey, maybe I should investigate for myself to see if the phrase is actually used 365 times in the Bible. Turns out, it isn’t.
But, here’s the thing. It is a very major theme of the Bible. If you just focus on verses about fear and anxiety, it’s not quite 365. That exact phrase is used 70 times (a lot), and if you include the verse that could legitimately be about fear and anxiety, you get up over 100. If you include the themes of: Courage, trust, refuge/fortress, God is with you, cast your cares, wait/hope in the Lord, faithfulness, and experiencing the love of God while in distress, then you get up over 200.
It is possible to get up over 365, but you have to broaden the term quite a bit. So, it is possible to get up over 365, but not all of their verses will be explicitly about the fear/anxiety.
For example: “The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.” Ps. 103:19. This verse should definitely give us peace and help overcome our anxieties, but it doesn’t explicitly address fear and anxiety.
Also, these verses in Colossians 1: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation,
for all things in heaven and on earth were created in him—all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers—all things were created through him and for him.
He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him.” God through Christ created all things – including all thones/dominions/powers visible or invisible. He was before all things, and he holds all things together. So, this should definitely give us hope and help us overcome fear and anxiety. It’s not directly about it, but it should overcome it. There’s nothing stronger in this world than God. He created everything here and beyond.
With all that in mind, I think I can safely say that there are at least 365 Scriptures that speak to fear and anxiety. Actually, a little more than 400.
But, even with that in mind, that doesn’t mean that the intention of those verses is for us to have one a day. Yes, we should walk every day with peace and confidence that God is in control. But sometimes, we like to stretch things and say things that aren’t explicit in the text. So, I decided not to go that route with the song.
But I did still write the song (It will be available on all streaming platforms 9/4/2026 under the artist name “David Daniel Lindner”). It just didn’t end up being about having one verse for every day. Maybe I should just write the lyrics here:
“Don’t Be Afraid”
Wars on every corner of the globe
Famines, floods, and fires steal the show
The ground is shaking underneath my feet
And it’s shaking everything inside of me
Leaders serving self instead of all
Divisions grow beyond what I recall
But even in the midst of all this fear
There is a voice that’s speaking in my ear
Don’t be afraid
There’s nothing stronger in this world than God
Don’t be afraid
He created everything here and beyond
He’s the source of every breath
He’s the victor over death
Everything that’s going on, His voice allows
And I can hear Him telling me right now
Don’t be afraid
There is no power He cannot defeat
He’ll make them all a stool beneath His feet
So when the day of evil is at hand
The only thing we have to do is stand
Don’t be afraid
There’s nothing stronger in this world than God
Don’t be afraid
He created everything here and beyond
He’s the source of every breath
He’s the victor over death
Everything that’s going on, His voice allows
And I can hear Him telling us right now
Don’t be afraid
So be brave, be bold, be strong
Have courage when it seems all hope is gone
Stand firm, take heart, don’t be dismayed
He will keep in perfect peace the mind that’s stayed on Him
Don’t be afraid
There’s nothing stronger in this world than God
Don’t be afraid
He created everything here and beyond
He’s the source of every breath
He’s the victor over death
Everything that’s going on, His voice allows
And I can hear Him telling me right now
In the midst of all the chaos of the crowd
When the shouts around you seem to be too loud
Don’t be afraid
Here’s the truth of what Scripture teaches on this topic: God is in control. It’s not always easy for us to see and believe that because of how crazy our environment has become. Regardless, it’s still true. He existed before everything and will exist after everything. He is the reason we exist. He is the loving God who sent His son to defeat death so that we could experience the life that is truly life.
Nothing happening in our world surprises God. He sees it all. That’s why I wrote that line, “Everything that’s going on, His voice allows.” But that raises some problems for us, doesn’t it? It does for me.
The first thing I think we need to understand is that God’s permission is not God’s approval. God does not endorse evil acts. He repeatedly condemns things like oppression, murder, injustice, racism/partiality, exploitation of the poor, abuse of the vulnerable, dishonest weights, etc. God has allowed humans to make their own choices. Oftentimes, those end up being selfish, evil, and go against His plan.
Humans can choose to do and believe whatever they want. But that doesn’t mean that they can overthrow God’s power, purposes, or eventual justice. God knows and sees everything that’s happening; He has the power to overturn it and bring good out of it. Every injustice that seems to escape judgment will still ultimately face His judgment.
But that still doesn’t feel satisfying, does it? Why doesn’t God stop all these evil acts from occurring? That’s the harder question to answer, and it’s one many of us wrestle with. The honest answer is: I don’t know.
Scripture doesn’t give us the reason that God doesn’t intervene and stop every individual tragedy. Humans can rebel against God and do horrible, awful, violent things. Injustices seem to never end, especially in certain parts of the world. And we are not alone in asking this question. Habakkuk asked it. And since he’s got His own book in the Bible, that says something. Look at chapters 1 & 2 of Habakkuk. “How long, LORD, must I cry for help? But you do not listen! I call out to you, “Violence!” But you do not deliver!” Why do you force me to witness injustice, why do you put up with wrongdoing, destruction and violence confront me, conflict is present and one must endure strife. For this reason, the law lacks power, and justice is never carried out. Indeed, the wicked intimidate the innocent. For this reason, justice is perverted.”
How does God respond? He doesn’t tell Habakkuk that evil is acceptable. Instead, he tells him that Judgment is coming, even though it seems delayed.
Perhaps the easiest way to see this is with the cross. God could have intervened and stopped Judas, stopped Pilate and the high priests from condemning Jesus to be executed. But he allowed humans to commit a horrific injustice against an innocent man and then used that evil to provide redemption for all humanity. The people involved in that act were never excused for what they did and were/will be held responsible. “[Jesus] was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put him to death…” (Acts 2:23). Also read Acts 4:27-28.
So, why does God allow evil? I don’t know. And Scripture doesn’t give us a great, satisfying reason for every single tragedy that happens. But it does tell us that his patience should NEVER be confused with approval. When He delays, it should never be confused with His absence. And His temporary permission should never be confused with powerlessness. Evil is real, God hates it, and evil will NOT have the final word. Nothing happens outside of God’s sovereignty.
Which should give us another reason not to be afraid. Because we know that eventually, everything will be made right. Evil WILL NOT win. Nothing evil that happens can escape God’s authority. God will finally set all things right.
Bad things happen to us. Evil may even appear to win for a while, sometimes for generations. But it will not get the last word.
So, Don’t Be Afraid.
