This sermon addresses why fearful people keep returning to the promise “Fear not, for I am with you.” It shows how fear drives us toward substitutes like self-reliance, human reassurance, or idols that promise comfort and availability but cannot truly sustain us. Against these hollow alternatives, God declares his sovereign rule over history and speaks personally to his people with a promise of covenant presence, strength, help, and support. That promise finds its fullest meaning in Jesus Christ, who does not merely reassure us from a distance but comes near, bears our fears and sins, and faithfully upholds us.