Fear is a powerful emotion.  Of course, appropriate fear is healthy: such as fear of God's wrath over sin (Romans 2:5), and fear of any obvious danger (Luke 21:20-24).  However, non-specific fear often grips us when we face anything unfamiliar and feel that a situation is out of our control (Genesis 3:8-10).  If only we knew the truth, or trusted that God is in control, we would understand and have no need to be afraid (Matthew 14:25-27).  That was the problem for the women as they reached the tomb of Jesus on that first Easter Day.  They were not expecting the stone to be rolled away from the tomb revealing that the body of Jesus was not there.  

Was there nothing in their experience that could have prepared them for what they saw and heard?  They were not ignorant.  Jesus had already told the band of disciples of His impending death and rising again, and the women knew what He had said.  But they did not understand the meaning of the words He had told them.  Although they had experienced Jesus raising three people from the dead (Luke 7:11-15; Luke 8:49-56; John 11:38-44), they did not want to understand that He would be crucified and so pushed the words out of their minds, including the promise of His resurrection on the third day (Luke 24:11).  So, they were afraid.

The divinely sent messengers did two things: they confirmed that Jesus was alive and no longer in the grave, and they reminded the women of what Jesus had said to them.  The fulfilment of His promise was in front of them, but they could only make sense of it by remembering what Jesus had already prophesied. ‘It must happen’, said Jesus, pointing to the fact that the cross was no accident, and the resurrection was no coincidence.  What Jesus suffered and His rising again was all in God's plan.  But they had not wanted to know and so they were afraid.  The angels were not giving a new message but reminding them of what Jesus had already said.  That is still the task of preachers (1 Corinthians 15:1).
 
How often do we needlessly suffer from fear of failure, fear of punishment and fear of being alone ... because we are just living in our own little world, which we think is spinning out of control?  But God's Word tells us that all those who are trusting in Jesus as Saviour and Lord can rely on His promise to be with us all the way (Acts 18:9-11).  He provides for our needs, to give us strength and to remove the burden of guilt.  However, we may throw away those assurances as we try to bring life under our own control and forget His promises.  So today would be a good day to bring every fear to the Lord and seek out the assurances of His Word.  Remember what He says, memorise it, teach it to your family and share it with your colleagues and friends (Deuteronomy 6:1-19).  The truth of God's Word is the greatest defence against the fear of uncertainty.