That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said.
John 20:19 NLT
All of us will have experienced fear in our lives. That horrible feeling that something unpleasant may happen to us. Sometimes these fears are real and present, like the school bully waiting for us on our walk home from school. At other times they are imagined, such as fear of an uncertain future. The scripture is peppered with encouragement not to fear, yet these feelings are so strong and the anxieties they give rise to can lead to mental and physical problems.
Here the disciples lock themselves away for fear of reprisals from those who had accused and executed Jesus. Their fear drove them to withdraw from public scrutiny and limited their freedom of movement. In their fear, they encountered Jesus. He encouraged them with a simple message; “Peace be with you”. I’m sure they would have willingly exchanged their fear for God’s peace, yet this is not as easy as it sounds.
Their fear was based upon uncertainty. What they would need to discover was the degree to which they could transfer their certainty in the Jesus they knew to the uncertain future that created their anxieties. So, we have to choose to work at deepening our confidence in God as a present reality more than a satisfying theological truth. While we may feel comfortable in our theological understanding, we can never grow until and unless we step beyond the walls built up by fear.
Life, by its very nature, remains uncertain. We can manage risk as best we can, but we cannot actually determine our, or anyone else’s, future. Many older people express fears for the time when they will lose control over their lives due to the ageing process.
Fear is restrictive to both movement and personal growth. Facing fear and choosing to trust God usually creates a measure of unease, as do all learning environments.
QUESTION
To what extent are your life decisions shaped by the fears that haunt you?
PRAYER
May your comfort and peace fill me afresh and banish all shadows and fear in the light of your presence.
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