Fear
by Angela Weir
Fear is something we all have to face at some stage or another. In the verse above Jesus is speaking to the terrified disciples as He came to them walking across the water. From the distance of 2,000 years we know the story of how the disciples were all in the boat in the middle of the night and they suddenly saw a figure approaching them across the water. We may even be tempted to laugh at their fear; of course it was Jesus, who else could do that? But they had no idea that He could possibly walk on water. It had never been done before, and, as far as I know, only Peter has done it since. No wonder they were terrified.
Jesus` call to them is so reassuring. “It’s OK, it’s God here!” (My very free translation!) The Amplified Version of the Bible says ‘I AM’. In other words Jesus was using the very words that God used to Moses when he asked who he should tell the Israelites had sent him: God says, ‘I AM WHO I AM and WHAT I AM, and I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE; AND He said, You shall say this to the Israelites, I AM has sent me to you!’ (Exodus 3: 14). God uses the present continuous verb, I am, meaning that I am always the same now and forever, and Jesus has promised that He will never leave or forsake us.
If we’re honest we all feel fear at some time or another. I believe God understands this very natural human emotion, which is why it says so often in the Bible, “Do not be afraid”, because He wants us to trust in Him. It’s easy to say and we can quote the Scriptures to ourselves as reassurance, but still there is this nagging doubt.
I’m going to have an eye operation at the beginning of July and the more I hear about it the less I’m looking forward to it! Eyes are so precious and it will be such a delicate operation – I’m not going into gory details – but I will confess that I’m afraid.
Over the next few weeks I shall be praying and holding fast to the verses, particularly those in Isaiah 43 where God says ‘I have called you by name: you are Mine’ and then goes on to say that whatever difficulties we have to face, He will be there with us. Thank You, Lord.
Prayer: Dear Father, thank You that You are the great I AM and that You hold me in the palm of Your hand. Please help my faith and trust in You to increase, no matter what difficulties and dangers I have to face. I trust You, Lord, to see me safely through. Amen.
Angela Weir has been associated with Ellel Ministries from the very beginning, first as an associate member of the ministry team and later as an associate teacher. She trained as an actress before moving to Cumbria, where she taught drama in a girls’ school. She now teaches and ministers at various Ellel Centres.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
