#JESUS2018 - Daily DevotionalsSample

ENCOUNTERING JESUS AT EYE LEVEL

Is that true? Was Jesus scared?

Fear is a part of life. It is a normal feeling, just like joy and sorrow. Jesus was scared, we are scared. Feelings are not fundamentally wrong! Despite this we try to ignore, repress, deny and overcome fear. 

Do we have to?

In the garden of Gethsemane, ancient olive trees are still standing today. Gethsemane is Greek and means ‘oil press’. Jesus was under pressure. Our fear presses us in the same way as an oil press does an olive. And what is in it comes out. Jesus knew what was about to happen: He knew that 40 lashes were awaiting him. And he knew that whips covered with shards and stones would destroy his back. He feared the infernal pain and the slow death at the cross.

Jesus was in the midst of the ‘press’. And what came forth through the pressure of fear? His love for his father! This gave him new strength and a new perspective. That is how Jesus could look past the events towards a good future: death is not final and his sacrifice makes sense!

If Jesus didn’t take these circumstances lightly, nobody expects it from you either! We are allowed to be scared. But we should not stand still!

ACTION STEP:

Only once you identify the fear and call it by name, you can develop the courage to overcome it with God’s help.

Which are your Gethsemane situations in which you are scared? Reflect your behavior. How have you dealt with your fears up to now? How do you want to deal with them in the future?

Tell someone you trust about this and pray together.

Reto Kaltbrunner, ICF St.Gallen