Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked. John 20:26
Today’s verse begins with eight days after the Resurrection and the disciples are still locked in a room. Now remember the Reusurrected Jesus has shown Himself to them, so they know He overcame death, hell and the grave. Yet, they are still living in fear. But why are we surprised? Wouldn’t we have acted the same way? Let’s be honest, the answer is yes. We would have thought He was a ghost, when He was standing in a locked room with us. We would have had a difficult time believing what we were seeing and hearing.
Fear, it is a spirit that paralyzes, steals and destroys if we believe what the enemy is saying rather than God. This is why Jesus had to stay on earth for 40 days after His Resurrection, He had to encourage and reinforce that He can be trusted because He does what He says He will do. The disciples needed to hear over and over the truth of what Jesus said before He died and rose again. They needed to know His forgiveness and acceptance of the their failures and that they could still live a victorious life.
So how about you? What are you fearful of? Take time to really think about that, some are fearful of forgiveness, others of being happy, still others of living a victorious life. That’s right, it’s the things we think that has nothing to do with fear, is what the enemy uses the most. Don’t let Him steal from you any longer. God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). This is why we’re told over and over in the Scriptures to fear not. Let’s not still be locked behind closed doors of our own making. Jesus has given us the key of the Power of the Resurrection and His love. May we never forget the truth of 1 John 4:18, that perfect love casts out fear, and no one loves us more than Jesus!
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