Don’t Be Afraid! It’s Jesus!
When Jesus saw the fear in the eyes of the disciples and heard the fear in their voices while He was coming to save them, He quickly said to them in Matthew 14:27 “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”
It is very easy to become afraid in unknown and unforeseen circumstances.When we are caught in the middle of a storm, when we can’t go left, we can’t go right, we can’t head backwards, and we can’t move forward; we think at that point we are hopeless. What are we to do? Call upon the name of the Lord. He is so faithful and just not to abandon us, not to leave us as orphans. There is unsurmountable comfort in the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who saved us, the one who rescued us, the one who delivered us from the tight grip of the devil. Instead of rebuking the disciples because they did not recognize Him, He simply told them to calm down, don’t be afraid, it’s Me. Jesus quenched their fear. He does the same with us. How long did it take us to come to have a relationship with God? We had to leave everything behind to come to Him. There was so much fear and trembling in our hearts, our eyes, our voices, and our souls. Just as He told the disciples, He tell us not to worry, to relax, He is in control. So many people know of Jesus because He walked on water, but to me, the biggest miracle that God has done is the transformation in my heart, the transformation in your heart, and the transformation in all of our hearts who love Him, who believe in Him, to trust in Him, who cling to Him. The miracle is the good work that He has began in us and will complete on the day we see Him face to face. We have such an awesome God. While other “gods” will let you deal with life on our own strength, or should I say weakness, our God wants to deal with life for us and with us.
Is anyone yet to personally encounter Jesus, possibly still running away in fear? He said with His own mouth and words, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” There is no need to continue to run in the opposite direction. Haven’t we all been tired and worn out for too long now? Isn’t what we have been holding on to for so long just too heavy of a burden on our back? Let it go. Jesus said “Come to Me. Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Go to Him, talk to Him, touch Him, ask Him to save you. He will save and redeem your life.