Do Not Be Afraid

‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.’ 
Mk.6:50

Rather than giving the disciples peace, seeing Jesus walking amidst the stormy waters terrified them. Then Jesus' spoken word calmed the waters and quelled their terror. 

The last time I was terrified was on learning our daughter had anorexia. All I knew about the illness was it had a high mortality rate. I came to learn that it is also a mental illness that can have a 100% recovery. My wife and I sought professional help and then rolled up our sleeves for the toughest months of our lives as I took time off work to help our daughter recover.

What quelled my terror in this storm was God's word, especially Psalm 118:17, "Our daughter will not die but live and proclaim what the Lord has done". This became our mantra. Praise God she has recovered is again healthy and happy.

I've heard it said courage isn't the absence of fear. It's the ability to feel the fear but do the right thing anyway. Jesus says don't let fear hold the steering wheel, let me.