But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid” (Matthew 14:27).

The disciples were sailing across the Sea of Galilee. They had left Jesus behind. John 6:18 tells us that the weather started getting rough, and their tiny ship was tossed. In the middle of this stressful situation, they saw a man walking on the water toward them. Obviously, men do not walk on water; it was too warm for ice skating and they had never seen a surfboard. A man walking on water could be only one thing: a ghost! “This is terrible! We’re in a storm, we’re about to drown, and now a ghost is coming to get us!”

It was Jesus. The same Man who, just a few hours earlier had fed thousands of people with a child’s meal was continuing to show His power over nature by walking on the water to reunite with them. They should have said, “Jesus had done some wild stuff before; could this be Him?” Instead, they immediately assumed the worst.

He gave them a simple command: “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Several years ago, somebody claimed that the command “fear not” appears 365 times in the Bible: once for each day of the year. Some people question this number (one writer found the exact phrase “fear not” only 70 times in the King James Version), but it still appears often enough, along with similar phrases like “be anxious for nothing.” God’s Word says “fear not” often enough that we should get the message.

While the phrase “fear not” appears only 70 times, the word “fear” appears 500 times in the Bible. God’s Word tells us to “fear not,” but it also commands us to fear God. This means to honor, respect, and worship Him. Do not let the fear of man or circumstances control your life. Instead, trust God, fear Him, and wait for Him to work in our crises.

Jesus is with us to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). As we hear of wars and rumors of wars, we see our world in chaos, and our individual lives may be filled with illness and other crises, Jesus still urges us: “Fear not!”

How do you counteract fear when problems arise?

Copyright © 2023 Michael E. Lynch. All rights reserved.