Lent Devotional – The End of Fear

Friday, April 18

By: Dona Bunch

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 14:27

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I’ve had to stop watching scary movies. As someone who lives alone, I’ve discovered that a Stephen King book before bedtime produces dreams that are straight out of Psycho. The same with scary movies, especially the stalker ones. I wake up at every pop of my heating system, sure that a crazed maniac is coming down the hall. To be blunt, I’m a scaredy-cat. I know, deep down, that there aren’t really monsters under the bed. But still….

I don’t think I’m the only one. It doesn’t take much to instill fear in our hearts, especially if we already feel like we are powerless. In those final, wrenching days of Jesus’s life on earth, surely others were afraid. The disciples could see the atmosphere darkening around Jesus. What started as surprise and amazement had become suspicion and distrust. And there was fear, too, among Pontius Pilate and other officials who cringed when they heard Jesus called Messiah. They feared his miracles and words of power would shrink the mighty Roman Empire. For them, fear turned to hate, and it was hate that ruled Pilate’s heart in the end, even though he knew in his heart that Jesus preached only peace.

For us, Jesus’s final days and crucifixion taught us an important lesson about fear. Jesus knew that fear was an illusion, that as long as God is in charge there is nothing to fear, even the most serious of situations. There is nothing that can really destroy us when we put ourselves in God’s hands. The message of Easter is that we don’t need to fear anything, not the challenges of our world, not the uncertainty all around us, not tyrants like Pilate or monsters under the bed – not even death itself.

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Prayer

All-loving God, help us to remember that, even when we are anxious and shaken by the world, you are there and there is nothing to fear, for you have defeated death and replaced fear with peace. Amen