Be Not Afraid

There are moments in life when a passage of scripture reaches out and grabs you. I am in this moment and the scripture is Acts 18:9 (KJV), which reads:

“Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace.”

And the kicker comes in the following verse Acts 18:10 (KJV):

“10 For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.”

Sometimes God will deal with me in the bright and shiny times of life, but I find that the most powerful and profound dealings occur in the heart of uncertain moments of life. When things look so dark and hopeless that it is as if Jesus Himself reaches out His hand and tells the winds of my heart to stop and says to them 'Peace be still'. But the storm has to be going on in order for the actual impact to be felt of commanding the peace to be still. What would be the point of commanding peace to be still when it is already peaceful? 

For me, and perhaps for others, but surely in scripture, we see Jesus stepping into the middle of the storms of our inner human hearts and dramatically changing things. But we have to want that peace, because He won't force us, that's not who He really is. However, when we open ourselves to Him, we get to see that He's been there all along. Even when we are seemingly alone in our own little world, behold, He is there also, constantly reaching out to us with love in His eyes wanting to give us rest in the midst of this crazy world. In big ways and small ways. Even if it's just a hug from a friend.

I am not alone, Jesus is with me, and who ever you are, if you really look, He is there with you too. Stay encouraged, and look to the hills from which comes your help. Jesus will never fail me, and he will never fail you. We don't have to be afraid, we can trust Him.