Don't Be Troubled, Don't Be Afraid

by HJS

In the Upper Room Jesus charged the disciples: "Don't be troubled; don't be afraid!" He knew the future; they didn't. Jesus finished His challenge, saying, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

Do you believe that? Are you convinced that God is in control of our world? And that you can have peace in Him? 

A little girl was a passenger aboard a ship that was captained by his father, and as the ship crossed the Atlantic, it was caught in a winter storm. Gales lashed the vessel and it tossed and rolled with the angry waves. The captain asked the steward to have every passenger put on lifejackets.

Gently, the steward knocked on the door of the cabin occupied by the little girl and told her the orders that had been given. "Is father at the helm of the ship?" she asked. When she was told that he was, she quickly added, "If father is at the helm, everything is going to be okay."

God neither slumbers nor sleeps. He is not indifferent to our world, or to your personal needs. His hand is not too short to reach you at the point of your need. Do you recall the words of Psalm 23? "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me" (Psalm 23:4 KJV).

Safety is not the absence of danger but the presence of the Lord. The dangers are all around us, yet so is His presence. You can face every day with confidence, because He says, "Don't be troubled; don't be afraid."

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.  EPHESIANS 2:8-9