Fear Is A LieSample

“FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN”

Have you ever been anxious or nervous before an exam or competition? The feeling of butterflies and helplessness can be crippling, and it can have a negative effect on your confidence. The fear that you feel is a fear of the unknown. You are unsure of what will happen when you open the exam booklet, so you start to worry about the various possible scenarios.

But fear like this is a total waste of time and energy. It does not change anything or help you to prepare for anything. This fear comes from assuming a negative outcome will arise, and as such it paralyzes your thinking.

When Jesus was walking on water, He called out to Peter and told him to come to Him on the water. As Peter stepped out of the boat, what he thought was going to happen didn’t. Instead of sinking, he walked on water.

However, after a couple of steps Peter took his eyes off Jesus and became overwhelmed by the water beneath him, and he quickly started to sink. The point of the passage is clear: If we trust Jesus with our future and look to him, we can trust that he will keep us afloat. When fear takes over, we shift our eyes from Jesus onto our circumstances, and like Peter, we too will begin to sink.

Today’s passage encourages us that we do not need to worry about the future. This is not because God doesn’t want us to care about the future, but because he wants us to trust his goodness and his plan for our life. Just as we can take our eyes off Jesus and onto our circumstances, we can equally fix our eyes on the unknown and spend too much time thinking of what could happen in the future.

You might not know what the future holds, but all you need to know today is who holds it. Today, think about how can you can fix your eyes on Jesus and his promises towards you, rather than focusing on your circumstances and the unknown parts of the future. Jesus promises to be with you at all times, so regardless of what your future looks like, you can take comfort in knowing that God has gone before you.