And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Matthew 10:28-29 31 ESV

We have three commands about fear. The first is to not be afraid of those who could kill us. How can we possibly do that? By knowing our Father. He is able to defend and protect us, but also our times are in His hands. If He wants us alive, no one is going to be able to kill us. If He’s declared it’s time for us to die, there’s no way you can keep me alive. Trust His power, sovereignty, and loving goodness.

The next command is to fear. There is a fear we should have. We need to act in fear and reverence toward God. Acting fearfully toward the things of this world is actually dishonoring God. He is compassionate toward our frailties, but we need to recognize who He is and He is much bigger and stronger and wiser than anyone in this world, not to mention infinitely good and loving.

The third command is directed again at not fearing about your physical life. Why can we not fear? Because we are of value to God!