“When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” (MT 14:26-27)
Pause for a moment and think about your worst fear. You know, that thing you fear the most. That thing that causes you to have sleepless nights, to over-eat, to weep uncontrollably. What if that thing really happened? What if the thing you fear the most came to pass? What is the worst that could happen? You lose your job, they find out you lied, you are embarrassed, you lose your life? Well, that could happen. But never forget that God loves you, he really loves you. God will never abandon you. God will save you. God’s plan is to have you with him in his heavenly Kingdom for all eternity. A place where there is no fear, no crying, no hurting, no pain, no dying. So even if your worst fear comes to pass, the Good News is that you will still end up with God. We fear hurt and pain and embarrassment and loss. That stuff really scares and disables us. But with God, there is endless love and mercy and consolation and peace even in moments of fear and hurt and embarrassment and loss. Especially in those moments. The moments when we need God the most. God’s gifts and God’s grace are more abundant than all our fears combined. Where there is fear, there is much more grace. When we are frightened, God’s arms hold us even tighter. When we are scared, know that we are never alone for God is with us, he will never abandon you. The things that should frighten us the most is our pride and our numbness to sin. These separate us from God’s gracious gifts, from his holy presence, from his amazing grace. And that should really scare us. We need God. We really need him. We can’t live without him. Holy Fear is our strength in moments of temptation, in moments of fear, in moments of pride and even moments of sin. In these moments, God’s grace floods us with the knowledge that he loves us, the understanding that God is greater than all our fears, the wisdom to overcome our sin and the strength to get over our prideful condition. But we must cooperate with God’s grace. We must become meek and humble of heart like Jesus and surrender to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Fear can disable us, imprison us, shut us down. Fear can cause fatigue and fill us with anxiety but only if we let it. Jesus says, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” God is always with us. He will never leave us alone. Plus, we must consider the fact that our greatest fear may never even come to pass. Jesus, we love you and we trust in you!