Have No Fear

So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6)

Let’s talk about the disciple John for a moment. John was the youngest of all the disciples. He was a fisherman; when he began to follow Christ, his life would never again be the same. The Bible tells us that John was the only apostle who made it all the way to the cross. John demonstrated extreme faithfulness to Christ, all the way to death.
 
The most important thing we should understand about John was that he was fearless. Because he was the youngest, some would say he didn't know any better; that is why he went all the way to the cross. The other disciples were afraid they would get arrested. Like Jesus, they would be subjected to a mock court, and they would face the same fate as Jesus, crucifixion. That is why they ran for cover. However, John went all the way to the cross. Even though his exile on the Island of Patmos separated him from support, encouragement, and other believers; he remained faithful.

It is very interesting that John did not allow fear to control him. Do you understand how powerful fear is? It is a powerful thing that affected eleven out of the twelve disciples.  

For many of us, fear has been controlling us more than anything else. If Christians today are allowing their life to be controlled by fear, how will they respond if the church sees real persecution? How will they act when there is the threat of death, the threat of financial disaster, or the threat of turning everything upside down?

As we continue to follow Jesus, these are questions we must not only consider, but they are questions we should be prepared to answer. Thankfully, we have the example of people like John in Scripture to teach us that we can be fearless as children of the Almighty God. We have nothing to fear, for what can they do to us? They can’t take away our eternal destination. Because they cannot separate us from the Lord, we don’t have to be fearful. May we be reminded of that truth as we walk through trying, uncertain, and fear-inducing times in our world today.