The Only Reason Not To Be Afraid

Reference: John 6:18-20 Soon a gale swept down upon them, and the sea grew very rough. 19 They had rowed three or four miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, 20 but he called out to them, "Don’t be afraid. I am here!"

Observation: There are a lot of reasons to be afraid in life. Reports of $4 gas by the end of summer. We have no idea if we will be financially secure in the future. We can not guarantee that we will remain healthy. People can be fickle and so our most valued relationships can end when we least expect it.

We have only one place of peace and security in this insecure world; God Himself has promised to be with us. Just like Jesus said to His frightened disciples, God would say to us; "Don’t be afraid. I am here!" In Romans it says; "If God be for us who can be against us?" What a great question!

We need to learn to look at all of life and instead of seeing the trials we face as something we must deal with alone, we need to see that God is there and always will be there to go through them with us. And not just to go through them, but to save us out of them. His Word promises us that He will work everything out for our good. What a great thing to know when we are facing hard times.

Application/Confession: I find myself fearing too often. It is usually a financial issue. I want to be free from that fear and confident in the fact that Jesus is walking through every trial with me and will rescue me. I want to live in faith instead of fear.

PRAYER: Turn my eyes to you Lord. Allow me to hear you say, "Don’t be afraid. I am here!" You will always be with me. Teach me to live in that confidence.