JESUS IS WITH ME

“So the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”   (John 1:14 NLT)

My favorite “preacher” story… is about a father who was having a hard time getting his daughter to bed one night. They had gone through their night ritual hundreds of times. This particular night was no exception. A glass of water. A trip to the bathroom. A prayer. A hug and kiss. “Tuck me in Daddy!” Over and over again it went. Frustrated, the father said to his little girl, “Sweetheart, you have to go to bed. Now when you get scared, I want you to say out loud, ‘Jesus is with me. Jesus is with me.’ And then you’ll be OK.” With a final hug and kiss, dad shut the door and went to sleep himself.

In the night a storm arose. It began to thunder, and lightning began to flash. The scared little girl remembered the advice of her dad and said out loud, “Jesus is with me. Jesus is with me!” With that there was a loud clap of thunder and flash of lightning. In an instant, the little girl jumped out of bed, threw open her door, and ran with all her might to her parents’ room. Flinging open their door with a giant leap, she jumped into their bed landing right between mommy and daddy. Dad rolled over, wiped the sleep from his eyes, and said to his little girl, “I thought I told you when you are scared to say, ‘Jesus is with me.’” She replied, “I did Daddy, I said ‘Jesus is with me. Jesus is with me,’ but Daddy, sometimes I needs me a Jesus with skin on!” We all do. 

-- Jorge Acevedo in “Everybody Needs Some Cave Time: Meeting God in Dark Places”

#6273

MORNING, AFTERNOON AND EVENING

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  (Joshua 1:9 NIV)

Morning, afternoon, evening -- the hours of the day, of any day, of your day and my day.  The alphabet of grace.  If there is a God who speaks anywhere, surely He speaks here: through waking up and working, through going away and coming back again, through people you meet and books you read, through falling asleep in the dark. 

-- Fredrick Buechner in “The Alphabet of Grace”

#5416

MOVING COURAGEOUSLY FORWARD

"After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua… ‘Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.’"  (Joshua 1:1,8,9 NIV)

God tells Joshua that Moses has died and that he will now lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. This powerful scripture reminds us that God is with us wherever we go and whatever we do. We do not need to be afraid of anyone or anything if we keep the Word of God in our heart. Instead, we can move courageously forward in life and an uncertain world as long as we remember and believe that God is with us. 

-- Author Unknown, adapted from quotescosmos.com

#4958

FACELESS FEARS

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”  (Psalm 23:4)

The dread of illness can be more damaging than the illness. The fear of failure can be more fatal than the failure. Go through the list of phobias which have multiplied in an age of anxiety and see how many of them are what Archibald MacLeish called "faceless fears." That is, they have no substance, no shape, no bodily image that you can face or fight. They're shadows. Fear of the dark -- fear of open places -- fear of closed places -- fear of criticism -- fear of the future -- fear of old age -- fear of death -- all the way to phobophobia, which is the fear of fear. There are seventy-two listed phobias, most of them shadows, ghosts. They have no power to hurt except through fear of them.

Obviously then, one of the great needs of life is to keep our fears manageable. And one of the great contributions that religious faith makes to wholesome life is right here. Nothing takes the fear out of life so much as an awareness deep within of God's nearness and His loving concern. "I will fear no evil for You are with me." The particular dread the psalmist speaks about is the common fear of death. He likens it to a shadow: "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…"  There's nothing much to fear in a shadow. The shadow of a dog can't bite. The shadow of a snake can't sting. And when life is undergirded by a consciousness of God's presence and concern, we're released from the fear of many shadows and get beyond the reach of many seeming evils. 

-- Wallace Hamilton in “Where Now Is Thy God?” 

#4948

LIVING FROM FAITH NOT FEAR

“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation."  (Isaiah 12:2 NIV) 

There is always a fight between faith and fear. Every single one of us face it head on in our lives, from time to time. But the one thing we can know, without a doubt, is this: the way to peace in our lives is never found by following our fear, but only by living from our faith.

-- Eric Folkerth

#4947

GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY

“Do not be afraid” serves as the first word spoken by the angel to the shepherds in the field (Luke 2:10) and later by an angel to two women at the tomb (Mark 16:6). When angels appear on the scene, it would seem, fear is not far behind -- and for good reason. When angels appear, something of the divine breaks in on human history, something that exceeds our understanding, not to mention our control; something that pronounces there is more to life than meets the eye in the keeping of a flock or the maintaining of a career or the “business as usual” sign we hang on our relationships and commitments. When angels descend, fear of the new and the unknown shakes us with the announcement that God is up and about and on the move.

“I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Messiah, the Lord.” The angel who spoke to shepherds in the fields outside of Bethlehem seeks to disarm their fears with a word concerning the birth of good news. It is a word that has worldwide implications (“for all people”), yet a word that bears the most personal of implications (“to you”). The word speaks of Savior, Messiah, and Lord. 

-- John Indermark in “Setting the Christmas Stage” 


#4481

POWERFUL PEACE

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  (John 14:27 NIV)

Peace doesn’t come from finding a lake with no storms. It comes from having Jesus in the boat.

God does not want us to live in worry or fear. He wants us to live with bold confidence in His power. “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7) In the Bible, we see a pattern in which God rarely sends people into situations where their comfort level is high. Rather He promises to be with them in their fear. It is God’s presence -- not comfortable circumstances -- that brings people to the best version of themselves.

-- John Ortberg in “The Me I Want To Be”

#4263

IN THE UNKNOWN PLACES

"Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)


No fear haunts more than the fear of the unknown.  Whether it be facing a new job or relocating our home or the dread we feel before surgery or awaiting results of medical tests, it stalks our path all our days. …


The life of the Christian is always uncertain.  There are no guarantees.  Paul tells the Ephesian elders at a time of change in his life, "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there" (Acts 20:22).  Going and Not Knowing seems to be the paradigm of the life of faith.  But in the unknown places, God is there before you.


-- Richard L. Morgan in I Never Found That Rocking Chair




#3681