Don't Be Afraid. Take Courage. I Am Here!

Matthew 14:27

On Fridays, I write the Red Letters to a Weary Soul to my paid subscribers, as we walk through the statements of Jesus, slowly and intentionally. I wanted to send this post to all my subscribers today.

But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!”
Matthew 14:27

1. Don’t be afraid.

2. Take courage.

3. I am here.

I would feel a lot better if the order were reversed.

1. I am here.

2. Take courage.

3. Don’t be afraid.

Doesn’t that seem easier? It’s a lot easier to be courageous if you know someone will catch you if you fall.

But life is often experienced in the order that Jesus shares. Something unexpected happens in life, and we experience fear. (For the disciples, Jesus walking on water certainly qualifies as something unexpected.)

And so, Jesus speaks to the immediate need: not being afraid. There is a big difference between being afraid and experiencing fear. Being afraid is a state of being where fear is the driver. When we are in a fear state, then we can’t be in any other state. Fear controls.

So Jesus isn’t saying, “How dare you experience fear!” Instead, he’s saying to us. I know fear has entered in, but don’t let fear be your operating system. He invites his disciples to take courage, to choose in the face of fear to move forward in the direction that fear says to run from.

And why is that possible? Because I am here.

I am here.

I know you may be afraid today, unsure what today or tomorrow will bring. You might be overwhelmed by your circumstances and the waves crashing around you, but the voice of Jesus is the same today in your living room as it was for the disciples on the boat 2000 years ago:

1. Don’t be afraid.

2. Take courage.

3. I am here.

Love,

Aaron