I was pleasantly surprised to read somewhere that God’ assurance, “Do Not Be Afraid” was written 365 times in the Bible; that’s a daily reminder for us from God to live fearless everyday. Out of curiosity and accountability, I did a simple search online, and it seems that the most hits I have gotten was only about 144 “Fear Not”, found in King James Version, see here. I was a little disappointed by this romantic myth, although it seems difficult to verify conclusively. I know there are other verses that probably meant the same thing but phrased differently, like “Take heart”, “Take courage”, “Be strong”, “Be still”, “Do not be anxious”, “Whom shall I fear?”, etc.
Anyway while pondering, I was reminded on the inside to be thankful, nevertheless, on the vast numbers of “Do Not Be Afraid” mentioned in the Bible. Frankly, I was hoodwinked by the shortfall in numbers, instead of giving praise to the huge numbers of divine assurances God, the Father has given us in His Word. I mean, think about it, how many other literatures, religious or otherwise, (if there is even any at all) gives you as many assurance and comfort? How many other gods/faith dared promise what our Father has promised us? And how strongly these promises are given? None that I know of.
And here I am, thinking like a spoiled brat, just because my Math doesn’t add up.
Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My [victorious] right hand of rightness and justice. Isaiah 41:10
You see, God not only gave His assurance and comfort (as recorded in the Bible) so many times; equally important is also the way He would assure us. He would always staked Himself into assurance turning it into a promise, guaranteed by Himself; not empty comforting words. He is not remote, aloof and faraway. God’s promises to us are always personal and always backed by Himself – the best evidence is found in Jesus Christ at the cross.
There are no romantic myths in Bible, only real ones, promises by a real personal God…
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7
King David 
The movie, “Facing the Giants”, has a line of dialogue stating that “do not fear” appears 365 times in the Bible. It does not, even with all variants and English versions considered. So we find bloggers commenting on how such an erroneous comment could shake one’s faith. Ye petty fidians; the line is from a screenplay, not the Bible.
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