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 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 to make it all the way to the cross. You are talking about extreme faithfulness, extreme faithfulness to Christ all the way to death. 
 
But the most important thing we should understand is that John was fearless. Some would say that because he was the youngest, 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 taken through a kangaroo court, and they would face the same fate as Jesus: crucifixion. That is why they ran for the hills. But 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 at least 11 out of 12 people. For many of us today, fear seems to be controlling us more than anything else. If you look at what is happening today in our particular climate, you understand that fear seems to be worse than the virus itself.  We have allowed our fear to control our behavior. Let me make a disclaimer. If you have secondary health concerns, you need to use wisdom and discernment in how you expose yourself. However, we are looking at an entire culture that is controlled by fear.  
 
Let me ask a question. If Christians today are allowing their life to be controlled by fear, how will they respond if the church gets persecuted? How will they act when there is the threat of death, a threat of financial disaster, or a threat of turning the fruit baskets upside down? 
 
These are questions we must not only consider as we continue to follow Jesus, 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 man do to us? They can’t take away our eternal destination. They can’t separate us from the Lord. So we don’t have to be fearful. May we be reminded of that truth as we walk through such trying, uncertain, fear-inducing times in our world today.