Bible in a Year - Women’s Thematic Reading Plan | Day 246

Day 246 of the Women’s Bible Plan: Read Matthew 10:24-33 and listen to Jesus’ words to His disciples as He sends them out. Today’s theme is “Fear Not Man, but Fear God,” helping us remember that in pressure, misunderstanding, opposition, and fear, our heavenly Father still watches over us so closely that even the hairs of our head are all numbered.

🌸  Dear Sister, welcome to Day 246 of our reading journey. 

Many times, the issue is not that we do not know what is right. The issue is that we are afraid of what doing right may cost. We fear people’s opinions. We fear being misunderstood. We fear losing relationships. We fear rejection. We fear what others may think, say, or decide about us. The pressure of people can feel like an invisible net, making us hear the Lord’s words yet hesitate to live them out openly.

Matthew Chapter 10 records the words Jesus spoke as He sent out His disciples. He did not give them a false sense of safety, as though following Him would mean never facing opposition, misunderstanding, or pressure. Instead, Jesus told them plainly that the disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. If He Himself was misunderstood and rejected, those who follow Him may also face pressure.

But the Lord did not call His disciples to live in fear. Three times in this passage, He says, “Fear not.” He turns their eyes away from human threats and toward the authority of God. He also turns their hearts from outward pressure to the tender care of the Father. Not one sparrow falls to the ground apart from the Father’s knowledge, and even the hairs of our head are all numbered.

A Minute of Grace

Matthew 10:24-33 is a very honest and comforting part of Jesus’ teaching as He sends out His disciples. Jesus tells them that those who follow Him will not always be understood or accepted by everyone. If people called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more would they speak against those of His household? In other words, faithful disciples may face misunderstanding, slander, pressure, and even persecution.

Yet Jesus continues, “Fear them not therefore.” This is not because opposition is unreal or because hurt does not matter. It is because God knows all things and rules over all things. There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, and nothing hid that shall not be known. The disciples do not need to hide the Lord’s words because of human threats. What the Lord tells them in darkness, they are to speak in light; what they hear in the ear, they are to preach upon the housetops.

Jesus also reminds them not to fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, they are to fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. True fear of God does not mean being trapped in terror, but placing God above every human voice and pressure. People’s opinions, acceptance, rejection, and opposition cannot become our final master. God alone is worthy of our deepest reverence, obedience, and trust.

But Jesus does not only speak of God’s authority. He also speaks of the Father’s care. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without the Father. Even the very hairs of our head are all numbered. Jesus reveals the Most High God as the Father who cares for His children with deep attention. He knows how afraid we may feel under pressure. He knows every wound, every misunderstood tear, and every struggle to stand faithfully for Him.

Today’s theme, “Fear Not Man, but Fear God,” invites us to reflect: Are we often bound by people’s opinions, so that we hesitate to obey the Lord? When we face pressure because of faith, honesty, holiness, truth, or service, do we still remember that we live under the Father’s care? Jesus does not call us to pretend we are strong. He calls us to find freedom in the fear of God and courage in the Father’s love.

Whispers for the Heart

1 Jesus says, “Fear them not therefore.” Are you facing pressure, opinions, misunderstanding, or criticism from people right now? Has this fear affected your obedience to God, your willingness to speak truth, your integrity, or the way you live out your faith?

2 Jesus tells His disciples not to fear those who can harm the body, but to fear God. Have you ever given people’s opinions too much weight, so that God’s Word was pushed into the background? Is the Lord inviting you today to reorder your heart?

3 Jesus says that even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Do you believe that when you face pressure, injustice, loneliness, or misunderstanding, the Father is not watching from far away, but caring for you closely? How can this truth give you courage?

As you read Matthew 10:24-33 today, do not hear only the command, “Fear not.” Also hear the comfort behind the command: we do not need to fear because the Father knows, the Father rules, and the Father cares.

Take a quiet breath before you begin. Bring your fear of people, your sensitivity to criticism, your weariness under pressure, and your need for the Father’s care before the Lord, and let His Word meet you there.

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🪕 Response Hymn: 

Matthew 10:24-33 (KJV)

24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.

25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.

27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.

28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

🪕 Response Hymn: 

💡 Closing Thought ·  Cared for by the Father, No Longer Bound by Fear

After reading Matthew 10:24-33, we hear Jesus say three times, “Fear not.” He does not say that disciples will never face pressure, nor does He say that misunderstanding and opposition will not hurt. Instead, He brings us back to a deeper truth: God reigns, God knows, and God cares. Human voices are not the final voice. Human judgments are not the final verdict. Human threats cannot take us out of the Father’s hand.

As we close this page and return to our own lives, perhaps you still have to face people’s opinions, family pressure, workplace challenges, misunderstanding in relationships, or loneliness in the path of faith. Remember this: the Father does not only see the big things. He has even numbered your hairs. Every struggle you carry in order to obey the Lord, every choice to remain honest and trusting under pressure—He knows.

May today’s Scripture remind you not to let fear of people rule your heart. May you find freedom in the fear of God, comfort in the Father’s careful watch over you, and courage to confess Christ, follow Christ, and trust Christ even under pressure.

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