When fear knocks on your door
It was about three in the afternoon when I received a phone call from my daughter. The voice at the other end wasn’t hers, “Your daughter is now at the Emergency Room. She is not yet awake. Please come as soon as possible. Thank you.”
Coming that afternoon from an activity filled with messages about the life hereafter, songs sang there brought comfort, conveyed hope of going to heaven and the promise of reunion with people who trusted in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Shown as climax of the meeting was the movie “Heaven is for Real.” It was about the son of a pastor who suffered from a ruptured appendix, and while at the operating table, this fouryear-old boy experienced an outof-body visit to heaven and came back to tell his story.
After the call, fear gripped my mind with thoughts of the reality of death. Just like the father in the movie, I begged God with tears, “Please don’t take away my daughter,” and sought the prayers of family and friends.
How I wished I could drive crazy to the hospital but I couldn’t because of the heavy traffic.
Upon arrival at the hospital, we were greatly relieved to see our daughter awake, surrounded by friends and medical personnel. Initially knowing she was out of danger was all we need to calm our hearts.
Then fear came knocking again, this time of the unknown especially that she was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit and needed to undergo numerous tests to determine the cause of her illness.
Exposed to different health concerns in my ministry as a pastor, I was faced with the reality of the ‘what ifs’ of life. How will we handle the results of the medical tests? How will it affect her future?
As we waited patiently for the result of the medical tests, our fears were erased upon knowing that they were all negative and that she can report back to work after a week of rest.
‘Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid’ was the statement of Jesus in Mark 6:45-52. This was His word to Peter and the disciples when they thought they saw a ghost walking on water. Fear knocked on the door of their hearts when they encountered something beyond the ordinary.
As I checked in the New International Version of the Bible the number of occurrences of the phrase, ‘Do not be afraid,’ it revealed there were 77 times in the entire book. This is a common assurance of the Lord to all of His people in both the Old and New Testaments. The question is, ‘Do we really trust the One saying, ‘Do not be afraid?’
As we celebrate the Holy Week and recall the crucifixion, death, burial of Jesus, and look at the hope of resurrection when we gather together on Easter Sunday, let us remember the message of Hebrews 2:14-16 (NIV), ‘14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil — 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.’
We will surely face many unexpected situations in life and there are times when fear will knock heavily on the door of our hearts. Let us anchor our hope on the One who defeated death — Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord.
Let us sing with confidence the chorus of the famous hymn, ‘Because He Lives’:
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, Because He lives, all fear is gone, Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living, just because He lives.