You don’t have to fear – Monday, 5 February

“On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
Mark 4:35-38 (NKJV)

 
The disciples were freaked out! They hadn’t forgotten that Jesus was in the same boat as they were, but it seems that they forgot who Jesus was. Or maybe they just forgot what He had been teaching them. It’s easy to allow fear to grab a hold of you when you focus on the storm. In moments like that, the fear causes us to forget what we’ve learnt and we go into panic and survival mode. You are not called to survive but to thrive! As God’s children, it is not our inheritance to simply make it through. God’s will for us is this: we are the head and not the tail. That means that we’re leading and showing people the way to go; we’re not simply following where the crowd is going. God’s will for us is that we be above only, and not beneath. We should not live in subjection to the circumstances around us. We shouldn’t allow ourselves to be pushed around by circumstances – we have God-given authority in Christ! We shouldn’t just go with the flow of the circumstances, but rather we should rise up and lead the way forward according to the will of God. (Deuteronomy 28:13; Ephesians 2:6)
 
Jesus wasn’t influenced by His disciples and their fear. Often, if we’re the only one in the group who believes what we believe, we easily give into popular belief and go with the flow of fear and unbelief. But we need to keep our eyes on Jesus, stay focused on His Word, and continue going in the direction He has called us to, no matter how difficult the opposition may be. No one and nothing should be able to make you believe anything other than what God has said. We should have the attitude of “God said it, I believe it and that settles it.”
 
Keep your eyes on Jesus, stay focused on His Word, and continue going in the direction He has called you to, no matter how difficult the opposition may be. 

Determine to have an attitude like this: God said it, I believe it and that settles it.