Tag: afraid
Day 5–Courage to face uncertainty
Scripture reading for February 27: Mark 10: 32-34 “And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, He began to tell them what was to happen to Him, saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priest and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles. They will mock Him and spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him. And after three days, He will rise.””
In this passage of Scripture, Jesus is leading His disciples on the road to Jerusalem and Jesus has been telling them plainly what would happen to Him there. As they walked on the road, the disciples had mixed emotions of amazement about Jesus rising from the dead and fear of His predicted mocking and death. As we put ourselves into their shoes, we can understand the uncertainty that they felt. They had followed Jesus and loved to be with Him. Each day had been an adventure in encountering uncertainty and difficulties and Jesus had amazed them with His Words and supernatural ability. But facing His death brought new fears.
As we look at our lives as first responders, we face uncertainty nearly every time we are called out. We may have a general idea of the troubles, but there are always unknown variables that could prove dangerous or even fatal to others or to us. As a believer, this passage of Scripture helps me in several ways. First of all, it is natural to have some fear of the unknown and dangerous situations. The disciples were afraid but still followed Jesus. This shows me that if I am following Jesus, He has every situation under control and knows exactly what will happen and the desired results. Following Jesus takes the burden off of me to know everything and be in total control. Even if I struggle to understand Jesus instructions, I can trust that He will be patient with me and lead me through to victory!
Prayer: Father God, thank You for sending Jesus to be my Lord and Counselor Who is always with me. I invite You to lead me into each incident and give me courage to serve You. I believe that You will work everything out for good because You love me. Amen.
Speaking to the storm!
Scripture reading for February 13th: Mark 4, Psalm 32, Proverbs 1
Key Scriptures: Mark 4:37-40 “And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And He awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
Jesus and His disciples were travelling by boat across the Sea of Galilee when a storm suddenly arose and the disciples feared for their lives. Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat and the disciples woke Him up for help. Jesus rebuked the wind and waves. Then Jesus rebuked them for their fear and lack of faith. The disciples were filled with awe and pondered the identity of their Master.
Faith’s confession: I believe that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, has authority over all things. He is teaching me not to be afraid of life’s storms, but to trust Him in all things, and to speak faith to the storms I encounter, knowing He is with me. (Action step: Speak faith and God’s truth to a trial you are encountering or help a friend in trial with prayer and a faith confession.)
Psalm 32:10 “Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.”