Let not your hearts be troubled.  Believe in God; believe also in me… And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever…even the Spirit of truth… I will not leave you as orphans…he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Rejoice always.
Pray without ceasing.
Give thanks in all circumstances;
For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

This is what the great king of Assyria says:

‘What are you trusting in that makes you so confident?’

 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.  For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised—May [you] be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it—For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.—Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.

John 14:1,16-18,26; I Thess. 5:16-19; Heb. 13:20-21; Isaiah 36:4NLT; Heb 10:35-36; Col. 1:9-12; I Thess. 5:23-24; Heb 10:37-39; Heb 12:28 [ESV unless otherwise noted]

On the brink of horrific things to come Jesus counsels his disciples not to let their hearts be troubled.  Is this even possible?!  All of Scripture is laced with ‘FEAR NOT’s. This is surely God’s will for His children, made possible by His Spirit living in us, reminding us whose we are. He reminds us of God’s promises and God’s commands.  The two are inseparable.  As we follow the Spirit in rejoicing, praying, and being thankful people, as we follow His lead in worshiping our great God, we will be delivered from our obsessive fears and our stubborn anxieties.  They cannot cling to us when we have conceded our will to God’s.

I am reminded of the words to an old hymn:
 “How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent Word.  What more can He say than to you He hath said–to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?”
God grant us faith to believe the things we have heard till we know them deep in our souls where our darkest fears breed.
–LS