Jesus rose from His time of prayerful anguish in triumph as He called out to His disciples with strong faith and total control: “Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” (Matthew 26:46).
Friend, Jesus always went ahead of His disciples, leading, seeing to their safety, and interceding for them. Jesus stepped forward to protect His disciples in the garden when the soldiers came to capture Him, quickly declaring that He was the One for whom they were looking. “Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” (John 18:8).
Similarly, Jesus came forward for each one of us and died on the cross to keep us in eternal safety: “Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever.” (1 Thessalonians 5:10 NLT) At Calvary, Jesus cut the chains of our slavery to the enemy with astounding might, disarming him and making a public spectacle of him (Colossians 2:15).
Look up, dear friend, and see Your Savior in front of you "high and lifted up" (Isaiah 57:15), suffering to set you free from fear and dread. See Him bearing all your worries and anxieties. Stand in awe to see Jesus' obedience, accepting the 'No' from His Father and drinking the cup of wrath so that you can always hear 'Yes!' in your time of need.
God might sometimes say to us:
“It is ‘No’ to what you want, my very dear child, but I cover you eternally with my perfect love. You are safe. No one can take you out of my hand (John 10:28-29). I am always …always well pleased with you” (Matthew 3:17).
We are forever at peace with God in a sacred shelter forged by Jesus’ ‘Yes’ at Gethsemane and ‘Yes’ at Calvary. And as we continue to shelter in Jesus’ finished work, our dreadful hearts transform into peaceful ones. Jesus has gone before us; He has provided safety for us. We’ve nothing to dread. We cry out with tears of thankfulness:
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.” Revelation 5:12
What reassurance Jesus’ experience at Gethsemane gives us in our times of apprehension. As Jesus prayed not once, but three times to His Father, we learn to continually come to God in prayer for the grace we need to overcome our feelings of fear and dread (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
God knows that we will have the suffering of anxiety in this life, and He calls us to cast all our worries on Jesus (Psalm 55:22, 1 Peter 5:7). We do not presume that we will be set free from the presence of anxiety, fear, and dread, as we have seen that Jesus also experienced such emotions. Instead, we pray that we will be actuated by faith rather than paralyzed by fear.
“That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.” 2 Timothy 1:12
The Scriptures tell us that our momentary afflictions are preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17). As we suffer in our flesh, turning away the temptation to act and immerse ourselves in our fear, we are taking up our cross and dying to sin (Luke 9:23), and crucifying our fearful flesh in its desires (Galatians 5:24). There is such joy in experiencing the gospel in this way:
“I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!” Philippians 3:10-11 (NLT)
Question 1: In Isaiah 53, it says: “But it was the Lord who decided to crush him [Jesus] and make him suffer. The Lord made his life a penalty offering, but he will still see his descendants and live a long life. He will complete the things the Lord wants him to do.” (Isaiah 53:10 NCV) [word in brackets added]. In this verse, where do you see the death and resurrection of Christ referenced, and what do you receive as a result?
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Question 2: “I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!” (Philippians 3:10-11 NLT). Meditating on this verse, please consider how this verse can be applied to your own fearfulness?
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We are rescued from the suffering of dread by Jesus’ victory at the cross.