Good Word Friday Theme: Fear Not

November is soon upon us, and we’re here with a new theme for Good Word Friday: Fear Not.

Today’s verse is taken from John 14, where Jesus is observing passover with His disciples in the upper room. At this point, Jesus has just made a few troubling predictions:

He is going to die — soon.
One of the disciples will traitorously betray Him.
Peter will deny Jesus three times before sunrise.

Talk about bad news. I think we all know what it’s like to hear bad news and feel afraid— it is 2020 after all. Just imagine what the disciples must’ve felt knowing that death and betrayal were at the very doorstep. Did they shake with fear? Did their minds whir in confusion? It’s one thing if the bad news is hypothetical or likely to happen at some uncertain future time. It’s different when you know it’s most definitely going to happen to you.

But what did Jesus do in the face of this fear? He immediately reassured His friends with a promise of peace.

This verse unlocks a secret that many people don’t know — Jesus can supernaturally remove fear, the fear that is totally natural and logical for us to feel. In His great power, Jesus Christ can disappear that fear.

We should be flying into a tailspin, but our minds are instead stable and rational. We should be falling apart emotionally, but we’re strangely calm. We should be trying to numb the pain, but we’re actually dealing with it. We should be despairing, but we’re (incredibly) filled with hope.

This is the power that is available to us through Christ. Let’s remember that the next time we greet bad news with fear.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.