One summer
night during a severe thunderstorm, a mother was tucking her small son
into bed. She was about to turn the light off when he asked in a
trembling voice, “Mommy, will you stay with me all night?”
Smiling, the
mother gave him a warm, reassuring hug and said tenderly, “I can't,
Dear. I have to sleep in Daddy's room.”
A long
silence followed. At last it was broken by a shaky voice saying, “The
big sissy!” *
Of what are
you afraid? Truth be told, we’re all “sissies” about something.
Yet, the most
often repeated command in Scripture is “Do not be afraid,” or “Do not
fear.”
“So don't be
afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” – Matthew 10:31
“Why are you
fearful, O you of little faith?” – Matthew 8:26
“Let your
conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you
have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake
you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The LORD is my helper; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?’” – Hebrews 13:5-6
God doesn’t
want us to live our lives in fear.
A man, as he
was walking on the street, saw a black cat crossing over the road. He
thought to himself that he was going to have a bad luck on that day.
Worried, he asked his friend what would be his fate because of the black
cat that had crossed his path in the morning. His friend replied, "That
will depend on whether you are a rat or not." *
Know who you
are in Christ and you will not fear.
In Christ,
you are: a child of God (Galatians 3:26-27), an heir of God and a joint
heir with Christ (Romans 8:16-17), saved by the Savior (Matthew 1:21),
redeemed by the Rescuer (Ephesians 1:7), justified by the Justifier
(Romans 3:23-26), and forgiven by the Great Forgiver (1 John 1:7-9).
