His Cross Our HopeSýnishorn

We can’t trust someone we don’t truly know, and we won’t follow someone we don’t fully trust. I’ve experienced this personally, but I’ve also watched this truth play out in the lives of others.

Over the years, our family has opened our home to youth with traumatic backgrounds. We can tell them again and again that we want to help them thrive, and they might even believe this at the moment. But during crises, they doubt us and our intentions. Their fear-driven fight for survival mentality causes them to spurn our help.

Sometimes I behave this way with God. When listening to a sermon or reading my Bible from the comfort of my bedroom, I’m confident of God’s power and love. As Peter did before the resurrection, I can even promise my Savior my unyielding allegiance. But then, when I feel threatened, my fears can challenge my ability to rest in His promises and trust in His care.

Before Christ’s resurrection, His disciples displayed this same tendency. Each of them, Philip included, abandoned them in His final hour. Granted, they hadn’t yet received the indwelling Holy Spirit to embolden and empower them. But I’m convinced their fear-driven response came, at least in part, because they didn’t truly know Jesus, not the depth that they would after Christ’s death and resurrection. That type of unfathomable, undeserved love and incomprehensible power changes a person.

The more we come to know Christ as He is—His love, power, and strength—the more courage we have to surrender. And the more we surrender, the more we come to know Him. With each step, Christ leads us on a journey of ever-deepening intimacy and increased faith.

~Jennifer Slattery

Author, speaker, and co-host of the Faith Over Fear podcast