Face Your Fears
with God
January 12, 2004
Had you sat next to Jesus in Gethsemane, and known
what he would face the next day, you probably would have
concluded he wasn't up to the task. If just the thought of
crucifixion affected him so dramatically, what would the actual
event itself do to him?
Once Jesus climbed to his feet and left the
garden, he never looked back. He endured betrayal, beatings,
rejection, humiliation, and injustice--all before the hours
spent hanging on the cross. At the place of execution, nails
were driven through his wrists and feet and he was suspended
between the grey Judean sky and the blood-soaked earth. So
galvanized was his faith that throughout the entire ordeal he
continually trusted in his Father and expressed compassion and
concern for those around him.
I'm convinced the key to such confidence rests in
Gethsemane. You and I might pray in the face of a crisis--but do
we walk away from that prayer with a supernatural confidence? I
hope so. But to be perfectly honest, I'm not batting 1,000 on
that one. I'm not even hitting 500. Sometimes I become so
obsessed with finding a solution for a problem I don't have time
to pray--or I don't take time. While such planning is crucial,
when it crowds out my time with God, I have according to the
trite adage, “put the cart before the horse.”
My priorities are distorted in the midst of a
crisis because they are distorted before the crisis. The place
to face my fears is with God. If I make spending time with him a
daily habit, I'll discover he can be trusted because he helps me
overcome my daily doubts and fears. If I can trust him with my
routine, then I'll be able to confidently approach him in faith
when a big crisis hits. (Adapted from Awaken the Leader Within,
by Bill Perkins)
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