And the angel answered and said unto the women,  

Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.  He is not hear: for he is risen, as he said.  Come see the place where the Lord lay.

(Matthew 28:5,6)

The past few years have seen the stock market on a roller coaster ride as investors were fearful of what might happen in our economy.  People are afraid of so many things.  Some people are afraid of death.  Some are afraid of failure.  Some are afraid of public speaking.  Some people are afraid of not being liked.  Some people are afraid that they will become victims of crime.  It is said that the number one problem for women in the U.S. is fear.   It is also said that for men fear is the number two problem, behind substance abuse (which may be  cover for their fears). 

Phobias cause people to change their life styles.  Many phobias have special names...acrophobia is the fear of heights...agoraphobia is the dread of open spaces ..... claustrophobia is the fear of being closed in ... ailurophobia is the fear of cats...ophidiophobia is fear of snakes.....arachnophobia is the fear of spiders.....hydrophobia is fear of water...mysophobia is the fear of dirt...triaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13, and so on, and so on, and so on.

Many of us live our lives filled with fear.  However, one of the by-products of knowing Jesus is the fact that there is no need to fear.  Just as an angel told Joseph in Matthew 1:20 to "fear not" when Mary was to conceive God's child, we find that an angel tells the women who went to the empty tomb to "fear not."  

As we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ we can be happy to know that we need not fear anything nor anyone.  God said that He would never leave us nor forsake us.  Our lives are in His hands.  The Good News for us all is that the tomb was empty.  Jesus lives.  And because He lives, we can face tomorrow.  Fear not brothers and sisters...Fear not!