DON’T FEAR
Third of nine devotions in Lenten Intense Series from Isaiah
53:1-12
Matthew 14:22-34
Matthew 14:28-33: “‘Lord, if it’s You,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me
to come to You on the water.’
“‘Come,’ He said.
“Then Peter got out of the boat, walked
on the water and came toward Jesus. But when
he saw the wind he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save
me!’”
Lent
is often a difficult time in many people’s lives. Pastors and priests agree that people suffer unexpected
bad news during Lent. It’s almost like
God wants His children to feel pain during this season when His Son suffered so
much.
Isaiah
53:3: “He was despised and rejected by
men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He
was despised, and we esteemed Him not.”
Jesus’
disciples were afraid after Jesus was arrested.
Matthew 26:56 says, “All the disciples deserted Him and fled.”
Ten
year old Cassie sat on the swing next to the new girl at recess. Her skin was very black. Cassie had never seen an African-American’s
skin so dark. So she wanted to meet her. “Hi!” Cassie said, smiling.
The
girl asked, “Are you talking to me?”
Cassie
said, “Yes! You’re new here. I never saw you before. What’s your name? What grade are you in?”
The
girl shook her head, and scoffed. “No
one talks to me!”
Cassie
said, “Don’t mind them. You’re just
different. But I’d like to be your
friend …if you want.”
The
girl looked directly into Cassie’s eyes. She said, “I would like to be your
friend. My name is Kodie. I’m in third grade.”
Cassie
said, “My cousin Shakira is in your class, Kodie. Did you just arrive in this country?”
“Yes,”
Kodie explained, “we arrived Monday from Uganda. My mom is very sick. A good friend in our church there said we
should take her to his uncle, a surgeon in the USA.”
“Oh,”
Cassie said, wrinkling her brow. “I’m
very sorry about your mom.”
“My
sister and brother are still in Uganda. We
may not be able to bring them here.”
Take Home Nugget
Whenever we our whine about our troubles,
we see that others’ are worse. Then, we’re
grateful for our own trouble.
How
weird is that?
When people see no path to victory, we
get scared. Peter began sinking, sure that
he’d drown. His first reaction was
fear. His next reaction is what we can
learn: He cried out for Jesus’ help.
“Immediately
Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. ‘You of
little faith,’ He said, ‘why did you doubt?’”
That’s
intense!
When
doubting our own sufficiency, we fear failure.
But we should NEVER doubt God’s sovereignty.
J.D. Griffith
Written
for http://www.Biblestudyforkids.com
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