Maegan, a friend of mine, wrote something that is so good. I'm so excited to share this with you all today! Thanks so much Maegan for taking the time to write this for the Quoted blog. Now, take these words to heart as you read about trusting God will all your fears...
“But Jesus spoke to them at once. ‘Don’t be afraid,’ he said. ‘Take courage. I am here!’” -Matthew 14:27 NLT
As I write this, Hurricane Laura has just been downgraded to a tropical storm. Yesterday, when the rain first started, I saw a rabbit in my backyard. Its eyes wide and body tense, that bunny looked far from relaxed. It made me feel so thankful to have a warm, strong, house to protect me and my family. God is like the shelter that will always stay strong through the most extreme storms.
After Jesus finishes feeding the five thousand in Matthew 14, he sends his disciples across a nearby lake. Then, he dismisses the people and goes to pray late into the night. While he is praying, the disciples get caught in a storm. In the very early morning, Jesus walks on the water to their boat. When the disciples saw him, they thought that he was a ghost. Sometimes we can feel like we are seeing the ghost side of things, we feel terrified, like all of the waves are crashing down on us. But when we take a closer look we see that it is actually us growing closer in our relationship with God. If we’re too focused on the storm it can be hard to hear the comforting words of Jesus.
Peter isn’t convinced, so he asks Jesus to tell him to walk on the water. Jesus agrees and Peter gets on to the water. He was fine for a while, but was frightened by the huge waves. He started to sink and shouted for Jesus to save him. We might feel overwhelmed by all of the problems around us, but if our attention strays from Jesus then we will begin to sink deeper into our worries.
But God won’t let us fall. Jesus goes to save Peter and says to him, “Your faith is small. Why did you doubt?” God knows that we are imperfect and that we will fall short, but time and time again, he comes to pick us back up. Our fears are so, so small compared to the mighty power of Christ.
As Christians, we are not promised a lazy river ride, we will go through many storms of fear, stress, and struggle. But we can’t let this discourage us in our mission to love God and love others. With Jesus as our good father, we will face these challenges with courage and hope that can only be found in the one true god. So when you are confronted with stress, anxiety, and fear, trust that Jesus will get you through this and bring you out of the storm even stronger than you were before.
How small we are doesn’t matter when we realize how powerful God is.
~Maegan
I love what you wrote, Maegan, and I hope this helps others to trust God with their fears! God is very powerful, and it doesn't matter how small we are when we put all our fears into His hands! Thank you! ~Ella
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