Listen

But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anybody about the vision until the Human One is raised from the dead.”

Matthew 17:7-9

Think

One of the most common commands in the Bible is “Don’t be afraid.” The good news is that its frequency means God really doesn’t want us to be afraid. God wants us to have confidence and courage and joy. The bad news is that we keep having to be reminded not to be afraid — because life is full of challenges that can wear us down to nothing.

Coming down the mountain, the disciples have the memory of Jesus’s glorious transformation firmly in their minds. They’ve had an encounter with the holy God. They’ve got to be full of great expectations about what life with this holy, glorious God will be like.

Then Jesus tells them that life with God also involves hardship. Jesus is going to have to suffer and die. Those who follow Jesus will have to take up their crosses and make their own sacrifices. Living a life of holiness is full of challenges — some great, some small. But God reminds us: “Don’t be afraid!” The holy, glorious God is with us.

Rebecca Poe Hays

Pray

Holy and glorious God, life is sometimes hard.

Help me not to be afraid.

Amen.

Go

Your genuine faith will result in praise, glory, and honor for you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you’ve never seen him, you love him. Even though you don’t see him now, you trust him and so rejoice with a glorious joy that is too much for words.

1 Peter 1:7b-8