Responding With Courage & Joy
December 7, 2021
“Don’t be afraid!” exclaimed the little boy, repeating the words his father had just said to him. How could he not be afraid? He was 1,000 feet from the floor of the ravine and all that was keeping him from falling was what appeared to be twigs fastened with and between strings. Of course, these were no twigs, but foot sized boards spaced roughly two inches apart; now were they strings, but instead ropes ropes large enough that they could easily fill the grip of a fully grown man. Yet, when you are terrified of heights, and the only way to traverse the ravine on the hike is to cross a football field length swinging bridge, perspective begins to alter. Had it been a fixed bridge, things might have been different. However, because this was a swinging bridge, it moved with the force of each person walking along it. And now, as he was fearfully crossing, his father was saying, “fear not,” and that he would be happy he had done it when he made it to the other side. Happy? Not possible! Not even with the fact that his father had demonstrated over and over that he would protect his son.
Odds of finding ourselves in the same spot as the little boy are probably pretty small. However, the scenario is an illustration of reality. We come into this world on the journey of life. In the midst of life, we encounter things that are scary, overwhelming, and/or things we simply do not want to face. Yet, because of the situation, regardless of what we want, we must go through them. For those who are followers of Jesus, we are told to take heart and know that He is in control. Yet, all we can see is the immediate situation and it seems insurmountable. “Even God cannot handle this issue,” we may seem to think.
Then we hear the words of the angel . . . “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy . . .” Before I put this into context, we should think about the statement in its proper context. The shepherds, who were the lowest of the socioeconomic ladder, were terrified because a being of unknown power broke into the night with a proclamation to not be afraid and told them of great joy in the midst of Roman occupation of their homeland. In the end, they did have great joy, because they responded to the message. They saw God’s salvation!
In our day, we too can hear the same message and respond with courage and joy if we will take our eyes off of the situation and look to the journey’s end. If we trust in Christ, we have, can and will see God’s salvation . . . we just have to continually respond to His message. Will you respond, so that you can daily see Christ . . . God’s salvation . . . in your life?
