18 Bible verses about fear
Every time God says “Do not be afraid,” He gives a reason. Here are eighteen of those moments, from Abram under the stars to John on Patmos.
The MySavior teamUpdated · 10 min read
Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.
From Matthew 14:27 · BSB
I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.
Psalm 34:4 · BSB
The Bible’s answer to fear is not “try to be braver.” It is “I am with you.” From Genesis to Revelation, God and His messengers keep saying “Do not be afraid,” and almost every time the very next words give the reason: I am your shield, I am with you, it is I.
That matters, because fear rarely listens to arguments. It shows up as a lump you notice in the shower, an email from your manager asking for “a quick chat,” headlights in the mirror on an empty road, a child who is not home yet. Scripture does not shame any of that. Abraham, Moses, David, the disciples and the women at the tomb were all afraid, and God met each of them there.
Below are eighteen verses about fear and courage, all from the Berean Standard Bible, roughly in the order they appear. Read them slowly. When one names your fear exactly, stop there and keep it.
If fear has become constant, with panic attacks, avoided places or sleepless weeks, please talk to a doctor or a counselor as well. Asking for help is not a failure of faith.
When you wonder if God’s promise still stands
Genesis 15:1
After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
Genesis 15:1 · BSB
The first “Do not be afraid” in the Bible goes to an old man with no children (Genesis 15:2). Abram’s fear is a quiet one: that God’s promise will die with him. God answers with Himself, I am your shield, and a few verses later takes him outside to count the stars.
When you have to go first
Deuteronomy 31:8
The LORD Himself goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”
Deuteronomy 31:8 · BSB
Moses, near the end of his life, says this to Joshua in front of the whole nation. Notice the order: the LORD goes before you, then stays with you. Wherever you walk next, a surgery, a new job, the first Christmas without someone, He is already there.
When you stand at the edge of something new
From Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
From Joshua 1:9 · BSB
Moses is dead, the Jordan is in front of them, and God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous three times in four verses (Joshua 1:6–9). Courage here is not a mood to produce; it is a command with a reason attached. And “wherever you go” includes the room you dread walking into.
In the darkest valley
Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4 · BSB
David does not say God keeps him out of the valley. He walks through it. Watch the pronouns: for three verses he talks about the LORD, and here, in the dark, he starts talking to Him. Fear does not vanish; it loses its grip.
When fear starts making a list
From Psalm 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread?
From Psalm 27:1 · BSB
David asks two questions and leaves them hanging on purpose. Try answering honestly, name by name: the diagnosis, the deadline, the person. Then set each one beside light, salvation and stronghold. None of those depend on how brave you feel today.
After the scare has passed
Psalm 34:4
I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.
Psalm 34:4 · BSB
The title ties this psalm to one of David’s least heroic days: terrified of a Philistine king, he pretended to be insane to escape (1 Samuel 21:10–15). Yet what he sings afterward is thanks, in three verbs: I sought, He answered, He delivered.
When the phone rings at the wrong hour
Psalm 112:7
He does not fear bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
Psalm 112:7 · BSB
Everyone knows the jolt of a call at 2 a.m., or a message that begins “Can you talk?” This psalm describes someone who still feels it but is not ruled by it. It opens by calling him blessed because he “fears the LORD.” That fear crowds out the other kind.
When you feel small and outnumbered
Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 · BSB
A few lines later God calls His people “O Jacob, you worm” (Isaiah 41:14): small, exposed, easy to crush. He does not argue. He piles promises on top: I am with you, I am your God, I will strengthen, help and uphold. The right hand is the hand of strength, and it holds you up.
When you feel like a number
From Isaiah 43:1
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine!
From Isaiah 43:1 · BSB
Before God says a word about waters, rivers and fire in the next verse, He says this: I redeemed you, I called you by your name. Fear makes us feel interchangeable, one more file, patient or applicant. God speaks to a whole nation and still uses a name.
When God comes close
Luke 2:10–11
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord!
Luke 2:10–11 · BSB
The shepherds were on the night shift when the glory of the Lord shone around them, and Luke says plainly they were terrified (Luke 2:9). The angel’s first words take the fear away; the next ones explain why. At Christmas, listen for the “Do not be afraid” before the good news.
When the news is the worst it can be
From Mark 5:36
Do not be afraid; just believe.
From Mark 5:36 · BSB
Jairus’s twelve-year-old daughter is dying. On the way to his house, messengers arrive to say she is dead: no point troubling the Teacher now. Jesus overhears and speaks before the father can fall apart. He asks two things, and the second is simply to keep believing on the walk home.
In the middle of the night
From Matthew 14:27
Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.
From Matthew 14:27 (BSB)
Before dawn, in the fourth watch of the night, the disciples see a figure on the water and cry out that it is a ghost. Jesus answers in three short sentences, and the middle one is the heart of it: “It is I.” Fear shrinks when you know who is coming toward you.
Sunday, November 8
9:41
Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.
From Matthew 14:27 · BSBTurn this verse into your Lock Screen wallpaperWrite it over a photograph in MySavior’s wallpaper maker and save it to Photos at the size of your iPhone’s screen.
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When you are afraid there will not be enough
Luke 12:32
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
Luke 12:32 · BSB
Jesus has just told His disciples not to worry about food or clothes (Luke 12:22). Then His voice softens: little flock, a shepherd’s word for a small, vulnerable group. The reason not to fear is not a fuller cupboard but a Father glad to give, and He gives the kingdom itself.
When good news is hard to believe
Matthew 28:10
“Do not be afraid,” said Jesus. “Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see Me.”
Matthew 28:10 · BSB
Easter morning. The women are running from the empty tomb “in fear and great joy,” both at once, when Jesus meets them. He repeats the angel’s words and gives them a task. And notice what He calls the disciples who deserted Him at His arrest (Matthew 26:56): My brothers.
When fear has run your life for years
Romans 8:15
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption to sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Romans 8:15 · BSB
Paul compares two households. In one you are a slave, braced for the next punishment. In the other you are a child who runs in calling for Dad. “Abba” is the word Jesus prayed in Gethsemane (Mark 14:36). Fear belongs to the first house; God has moved you into the second.
When fear wants to keep you quiet
2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.
2 Timothy 1:7 · BSB
Paul writes in chains near the end of his life (2 Timothy 1:8, 4:6), urging Timothy not to be ashamed. This is the fear that makes you swallow what you ought to say. God gives power to say it, love to say it kindly, and self-control to say it well.
When you are afraid of God Himself
1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love.
1 John 4:18 · BSB
Some fear is aimed at God: the dread that you have finally gone too far. John calls it fear of punishment, and says love drives it out. Two verses earlier he puts it plainly: God is love (1 John 4:16). The cure is not trying harder but knowing you are loved.
The last word
From Revelation 1:17–18
Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last, the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.
From Revelation 1:17–18 · BSB
On the island of Patmos, John sees the risen Christ and falls at His feet like a dead man. Jesus puts His right hand on him, says “Do not be afraid,” and tells him why: He has been through death and holds the keys. In the Berean Standard Bible, it is the last time those words appear.
A small practice for this week
Name your fear in one sentence, as plainly as you can. Choose the one verse above that answers it most directly and write it on a card you will see every day. Each time the fear comes back, say the verse once, then do the next small thing it has been keeping you from: the phone call, the appointment, the first step into the new room. In Scripture, courage is rarely the absence of fear. It is obedience with God beside you.
For a reminder through the day, put MySavior’s Bible Verse widget on your Home Screen with the Quiet Trust and Steady Strength topics chosen.
Keep courage where your eyes already go
Add the Quiet Trust and Steady Strength topics to MySavior’s Bible Verse widget, and short texts of trust and courage turn up on your Home Screen, changing by themselves on the schedule you pick.
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Questions
What does the Bible say about fear?
That fear is human, but it need not rule you, because God is present. Most of the Bible’s “Do not be afraid” commands come with a reason: “I am with you” (Isaiah 41:10), “It is I” (Matthew 14:27). Scripture also invites a reverent awe of God that crowds out the fear of everything else.
How many times does the Bible say “Do not be afraid”?
In the Berean Standard Bible, the words “Do not be afraid” appear 97 times, and other forms such as “Do not fear” add more. Counts differ between translations, so the popular claim of one “fear not” for every day of the year is hard to pin down. The first is Genesis 15:1; the last “Do not be afraid” is Revelation 1:17.
What is “the fear of the LORD”?
It is reverence: taking God seriously as God. Proverbs 9:10 says “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” It is not the terror that 1 John 4:18 says love drives out. Psalm 112 puts the two side by side: the person who fears the LORD (verse 1) “He does not fear bad news” (verse 7).
Which Bible translation is quoted here?
Every verse in this article is quoted from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB).
How can I keep verses about courage on my iPhone Home Screen?
Add MySavior’s Bible Verse widget and choose topics such as Quiet Trust and Steady Strength in the Widget Studio. It moves on to another text by itself, on the schedule you pick. New to widgets? Here is how to add one to the Home Screen.
