Today's encouragement comes from John 14:27b, where we find our blessed Redeemer saying this:
" . . . Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."The most fearless people are those who are by nature and discernment most prone to timidity and trepidation. This may seem odd, but it is true. The rea-son for this is because Christ instills miraculous confidence in those who—in themselves—actually lack it the most. This boldness is a result of regenerat-ive faith in Jesus. The believer says, "God commands me not to fear; there-fore, I will trust in Christ, and live absolutely assuredly in Him."
The apostles themselves were good examples of this very principle. Some of them were initially falsely self-confident (like Peter); but all of them were really (and understandably) fearful by nature and circumstance. Only after the pow-er of the Holy Spirit fell on them at Pentecost were they filled with so much divinely-inspired assurance, that nothing could stop them.
[Puritan quote of the day: "The Holy Ghost is content to dwell in smoky, of-fensive souls.” —Richard Sibbes, in, "The Bruised Reed"]
