Do Not Be Afraid

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, got into a boat, and started across the lake to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The lake became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the lake and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’ Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land towards which they were going. The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the lake saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’ John 6:16-27

We all have times when we are afraid, and the storms of life overwhelm us. Struggling with health, stability and our futures can make us all feel terror in our bones. Most of us don't face threatening situations every day, but often, fear creeps in, keeping us awake and haunting our dreams. The good news today is that we are not alone in the storms and Jesus knows our every fear, our every need and our heartfelt desires. Fear is part of being alive and to that Jesus says, "do not be afraid" very often in the gospels. He gets our pain and fear and comes to us in the midst of it.

Tender Creator, source of all peace 

you come close in the storms of life

we stay with us when we are sick

and love us like a perfect parent.

We tremble with fear everyday

thinking that this is our last day

worrying over the big and small

not seeing you drawing near to us.

Come near us Lord Jesus today

for we are weak and still afraid

you know our needs before we ask

and promise to still all the storms. Amen.