Have No Fear

Have No Fear (by David Peterson at The Rock Of Jesus Church)

Jesus was just seen walking on the waters of a violent Sea of Galilee by His disciples who were rowing in a small fishing boat. As He drew near He saw that they were frightened and in John 6:20 it says this; “But He said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’” This famous story of His omnipotence has Him calm the sea and defy gravity but more so He revealed a dramatic lesson to His disciples. Jesus showed His sovereignty that night and He calmed His 12 followers. Parallel scripture for these miracles can also be found in Matthew 14:22-33 and Mark 6:45-52 where He also asks “wWhy did you doubt?”

Concerning fear and doubt, the beloved Scottish theologian, Sinclair Ferguson, wrote; “If we have deep-seated fears that God does not really love us (as many Christians have), we can only go so far in growing nearer to God. There will come a point at which we will fear to trust Him any further because we cannot be sure of His love. When we look at ourselves, or our own faith, or our circumstances, we will never be free from those lurking fears. Satan will see to that. But when we lift up our eyes and look on the cross we find the final persuasion that God is gracious towards us. How can He be against us when all His wrath against us fell upon Christ? How can He fail to care for us when He gave the only Son He had for our sake? How can we doubt Him when He has given us evidence of His love sufficient to banish all doubts?” Ferguson relates that Jesus banishes fear and doubt because He loves us so.

A calming hymn is “Be Still, My Soul” by Kathrina von Schlegel written in 1752. Her first stanza is;

Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;

bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.

Leave to thy God to order and provide;

in every change He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heav'nly Friend

through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Yes! The Lord is on our side and faithfully remains!

Let us pray: All powerful Jesus, teach us to remain trusting in you and banished from all fear and doubt. We love you! Amen.