When I was in elementary school, I was what you might call “skinny.” As I’ve shared before, my nickname was “Bones Jones” for a very good reason. Thankfully, now we have anti-bullying measures, but back then it was not uncommon to get picked on for something like that. I, however, was not afraid of these things for one simple reason. I was good friends with the biggest, baddest kid in the whole school. I’m not exactly sure how old he was but I’m pretty sure he was already shaving in the 5th grade! I knew he was my friend and so did everyone else in school. If you messed with me, he messed with you.
Granted, every analogy breaks down somewhere – Jesus isn’t actually going to beat up anyone who scares you. Our passage for this Sunday says this, “…for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you,’ so that we confidently can say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5b,6
With Jesus at our side, we don’t have to be afraid of anything! That doesn’t mean that God doesn’t use fear to have us take action, but we’re not paralyzed, crushed, or dominated by fear. The security of Christ with us allows us to trust Him and follow Him in obedience in places where we couldn’t if we didn’t know that.
Join us on Sunday as we continue our study of “Extraordinary Hope” through Hebrews 13:1-14. I’m going to challenge you to face at least one of your fears knowing that Christ is with you!
Take care, but be ready to take a risk when Jesus asks you to,
Kurt
P.S. Moms – we have a special celebration for you on this Mother’s Day family worship Sunday!