Are you afraid? 

‘As they followed they were afraid.’ Mark 10:32 NKJV 

Ted Engstrom tells of a guy on a cruise ship who rescued a girl who had fallen overboard. At a party given in his honour that night, he gave the shortest ‘hero speech’ ever made. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I just want to know one thing: Who pushed me?’ Most of us aren’t naturally courageous, are we? We need a push. Robert Flood writes, ‘We like to think of ourselves as a mixture of Davy Crockett, John Wayne and the prophet Daniel, when the truth is we’re more like Gulliver, tied down by tiny strands of fear, real or imagined, and the result is a tragic loss of courage.’ Being a Christian doesn’t exempt you. Listen: ‘Jesus [went] before them...and as they followed they were afraid’ (Mark 10:32 NKJV). Max Lucado writes, ‘Before they were stained glass saints on the windows of cathedrals, the disciples were next door neighbours trying to make a living and raise a family. They weren’t cut from theological cloth or raised on supernatural milk. They were just an ounce more devoted than they were afraid, and as a result, they did extraordinary things.’ Some of the world’s greatest discoveries were made by people whose faith just ran ahead of their minds and overcame their fear. They knew that security and opportunity were total strangers. They understood that if it didn’t require faith then it didn’t involve God. The exact wording may vary, but one of the most repeated commands in the Bible is ‘do not be afraid’. Why? Because each time you do the thing you fear most, fear loses its hold over you and you become a little stronger – and a little more dependent on God. 

Prayer Point:

Father, thank you that the Bible is very honest about the fears and failings of Your disciples. You called ordinary men and women to follow You, and that gives me hope. Please help me today to choose faith over fear and to keep my focus on You. Let my love for You be greater than my fear because I want to step out and experience You at work in my life.  

Acknowledgements: Swindoll, Charles R, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart (Thomas Nelson, 1998).