In a few weeks, I will be teaching a workshop on the topic of fear at a youth conference called Converge. Fear is something I’ve struggled with all my life. When I was young, I was desperately afraid of the dark. That’s not even completely accurate because our hallway light was always on,so really, I was afraid of being alone during the night. I remember lying there, feeling like I was the only person alive in the whole world. The house was silent and everyone was asleep and felt miles away. I would lie there and try hard to be brave. I’d try to pray or think about something, anything but the fact that I was all alone, and it was nighttime. Suddenly, it seemed very possible there were things that went bump in the night. Eventually, a creak or a rustle or some imagined noise would break my resolve, and I’d leap from my bed and tear down the hallway to my Granny’s room. It was only when I was tucked in next to her that I finally felt safe because I knew – not just in my head but with physical proof – I was not alone.
In recent weeks, I’ve been doing a Bible study on Jesus’ life by Beth Moore. I’ve also been thinking about what and how I will teach on the topic of fear. I think it is something everyone struggles with in some way. The individual things we fear may be different, but everyone fears something (even if it is just fear itself!). But it’s one thing to talk about how we all have fears, and it’s another to give practical ways to combat that fear. These two things sort of collided when I came across the passage in Luke 9:18-20.
Early in Jesus’ ministry, He looks around at the disciples and asks, “Who do people say that I am?” The disciples answer with a variety of answers – John the Baptist, Elijah, a prophet from old. Then Jesus looks at them and asks THE question, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answers, “The Christ of God.”
As I’ve thought about this passage and the topic of fear, it occurred to me that how you answer the second question determines how you deal with fear because in the end, it really doesn’t matter who other people say that Jesus is. It matters who YOU believe He is.
As a child, I didn’t feel safe until I was safely tucked up into my Granny’s bed, her breathing and gentle snores sounding in my ears. In my own bed, I couldn’t see her or hear her or feel her. I was alone, and no matter how many times my parents told me I had nothing to fear, I didn’t know it for myself. But once I had made the terrifying trip down the hall, I found my Granny, and then I knew I wasn’t alone.
I think there are several ways we can combat fear, but it all boils down to this question: Who do you say that Jesus is? Your answer will be the difference between coping with your fears and overcoming them.
Once you have truly experienced the presence of Jesus in your life, you don’t just intellectually know you aren’t alone, you feel you are not alone.
When I was lying in my bed as a child, I wasn’t actually all alone in my house. My parents, my brother, my granny – they were all just down the hallway. But in the silent depths of the night, I felt alone. Maybe right now, even though everyone is telling you otherwise, you feel all alone, too. But you don’t have to. Really, Jesus beckons us all to come and sit at His feet, to really know Him and experience His presence.
And it’s in the light of His presence that the fears that lurk in the shadows disappear.
So, how do you learn the answer to this question? I think there is a combination of things that help us truly know, in a deep, heart -knowledge way, the answer to that question. I think those things include reading God’s Word, spending time in prayer, and just walking daily with Jesus through our daily, everyday lives because when we regularly walk with Jesus in the light, it’s easier to feel His presence in the dark.
So, who do YOU say that Jesus is?
Blessings, Rosanne
3 Comments on Who Do YOU Say Jesus Is?
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Rosanne,
What a wonderful writing. Yes, those fears were real and no matter how, we are parents, tried to help you overcome – you struggled. Aren’t we blessed to have the assurance that with God we don’t have to fear our destiny! Because He Lives – we shall never die. Absent from the body and present with the Lord. Love, Mom
Jesus is my Redeemer, the Restoration of my soul, my Salvation. This is such a great question to ask often. It helps us to keep our focus on Him. My hubby and I often talk about that passage.
Thanks for linking up with Grace and Truth.
Thanks for stopping over, Aimee! I find this question also helps me keep the right perspective! 🙂