“…then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.” -Matthew 26:56
Grown men are only able to act as though they are not afraid. It has been said that courage is managing your fear. In the movies, when the brave, leading man is close to danger, he appears as though nothing can move him. However, fear can bring out some rather unpredictable behavior, even among those who are seemingly fearless.
If you care in any way about your welfare and safety, you will be fearful at some point in your life. Fear, at times, can be a good thing. It is what yells, “Stop!” when you’re about to do something foolish or dangerous. On the other hand, a wrong kind of fear is never good. Unhealthy fear must never control us because, as Christians, we have been ordained to live powerful, radical, loving and engaging lives, all of which take courage.
When the disciples fled the scene in the garden of Gethsemane, they did so fear-filled and ignorantly. They did not realize until later that Jesus had been left alone with an angry mob that would soon begin torturous acts against the very One they had come to love and serve. Yes, they fled just as we would have done, had we been there. They forsook Him just as we would have done, had we been there. God’s grace and mercy, however, did not hold that against them, nor does the Lord hold such things against us now. Sadly and honestly, we have to admit that at times, we have all succumbed to the bondage of fear. It has caused us to say and do things that we would have otherwise never said or done.
Fear robs us of what God wants us to experience for His glory and for our joy. We often flee at the very moment that He is seeking to draw us closer to Himself. He desires an intimate and close relationship with us and yet, at times, fear steals our peace and causes us to panic and run when we should be staying close by.
Today, why not choose to turn that around? Why not make fear a defeated enemy? Let’s be willing to fear nothing that our God wills for us and instead choose security and peace rather than the tyrant of terror and dread.
Pastor Jack
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