Take Heart!
- Jan 31, 2025
- 5 min read
Please be still as you come before our Father God today. Please listen to this song and simply trust in Him.
Text - Matthew 14:26-27: "When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.'”
A lady told D.L. Moody that she had found a wonderful promise in the Bible that helped her overcome fear. Her verse was Psalm 56:3,"When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you."
Mr. Moody replied, "I have a better promise than that!" and he quoted Isaiah 12:2, "Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defence; he has become my salvation.”
The story begins with the disciples out, in a boat, without the Lord. That is never a good position to be in!
Notice, not only were they without Christ, in John 6:17 it says it was dark.
There is nothing as dark as being without Jesus! We know He is the true light of the world! So, to be without Christ, a person is really in the dark. Not only that, there is no hope.
All the hope of heaven and earth rests upon the person of Christ.
I know you have heard dozens of sermons on fear, or don’t fear.
But there are some kinds of fear that paralyses people. A fear that gets into the heart and mind and creates tension and worry. The fear that keeps people from enjoying life.
Take phobias, which attach fear to experiences: height, spiders, water, flying, crossing bridges, lifts, etc. The experience is so unpleasant that a person begins to fear having such an experience again. The very thought of the fear experience produces fear. Interesting thought - fear produces fear!
What caused fear in the disciples?
When they saw Jesus "they were terrified" (v26).
The disciples couldn’t believe what they saw. The presence of Jesus, the first born of all creation, the co-creator of the universe, the one who can multiply food in ways not seen before and feed thousands. But, they weren’t used to seeing Jesus in this way, and so they were afraid. And you and I know, if we were in the same boat before dawn, exhausted, and we saw Him coming like this, we’d be terrified too!
Spiritually speaking, when Jesus appears to us in new ways, we don’t always know what to do or how to respond. This is especially true when we face trials and struggles. Often panic sets in, fear overwhelms our thoughts and sometimes, as a consequence, weakens our faith.
The disciples shifted the whole scene to another world, "it’s a ghost."
The Greek word is ‘phantasma’, meaning a phantom, a vision of the night. It was an apparition (see Job 20:8 & Is 28:7 for similar words used for vision). Jesus himself said in Luke 24:39, ghosts don’t have flesh and bones.
The fourth watch was a time that people believed the spirit world was at its closest to this world and caused much distress amongst the people, and particularly with fishermen/sailors. They mistook Jesus for a ghost!
Upon hearing their cry, Jesus immediately said to them,"Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid."
Three times ‘Immediately’ is used in our story (vs 22, 27 & 31) always of Jesus. Jesus’ actions are always swift, discerning and decisive. It’s the immediacy of His word we’re looking at in verse 27: "Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid", which should help us to maintain our faith in challenging times, even in very daunting circumstances.
I’m taken by Jesus’ three-fold response to the disciples. First, He urges them to “take courage.”
Secondly, He reveals His presence with and for them. The Greek for "It is I" is amazingly translated “I Am.” The divine name for God.
Thirdly, especially after having revealed His identity, Jesus then encourages the disciples once again to leave fear and to trust Him, “Don’t be afraid."
Charles Price said this, "God’s victory is something not to be won, but to be received. Perhaps the greatest quality in women and men of God is the capacity to receive! It is not the capacity to create or to produce that is the mark of spiritual reality and true godliness, but the humility to receive what God alone can give, and to trust what God alone can do!”
The Greek word for "take courage" is ‘tharseō’ which actually means ‘take heart.’ Which means 'to have confidence,' or a 'firmness of purpose in the face of danger.'
When the disciples are terrified in the storm, thinking Jesus is a ghost, Jesus says, "Take heart, I am!".
You may have heard ‘take heart’ before in the Bible. In Matthew 9:2, Jesus, in declaring the paralysed man’s sins are forgiven, says to him, "take heart." And in Matthew 9:22, the woman who had suffered for 12 years touches Jesus’s garment, she is healed and greeted with the same word, "take heart".
Remember John 16:33:“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Charles Spurgeon writes: “To trust when there is no cause for fear, is but the name of faith, but to be reliant upon God when occasions for alarm are abundant and pressing, is the conquering faith of God's elect ... Whether the fear arise from without or within, from past, present, or future, from temporals, or spirituals, from men or devils, let us maintain faith, and we shall soon recover courage.”
There are times we don't understand what Jesus is trying to do in our lives and we become afraid. At other times, we see our problems roaring around us, and suddenly Jesus doesn't look so powerful!
Listen for a moment and hear Him say, "Take heart; I am!"
If only we would lay hold of God's word "take heart!"
Jesus told his disciples to "take heart, I am, don't be afraid!" When you have a serious problem in your life, or are still negotiating that storm, remember who is there for you, the "I am, don't be afraid!"
Take heart. Jesus seems to be summoning something far deeper in us to come alive, something deeper and stronger than fear! He knows that this 'something' is already inside us and He invites us to find it again and use it.
Such was the reaction of the disciples when Jesus came to them.
I’m not saying that you should take heart because God will solve all your problems. I’m not saying that Jesus will always calm the storms in your life. We know He can, but sometimes the storms will continue, but in everything note, He will be present with you ("never will I leave you or forsake you") and listen for His voice – "Take Heart".
John Ortberg wrote, “The greatest moment of your life is now. Not because it's pleasant or happy or easy, but because this moment is the only moment you've got. Every past moment is irretrievably gone. It's never coming back. If you live there, you lose your life. And the future is always out there somewhere. You can spend an eternity waiting for tomorrow, or worrying about tomorrow. If you live there, you likewise will lose your life. This moment is God's irreplaceable gift to you.”
Be like D. L. Moody and remember Isaiah 12:2," Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defence; he has become my salvation.”
Jesus says to each one of us today, "Take heart, I am, don't be afraid!"
I needed this today, and to meditate on Isaiah 12:2 and and the word’s of Jesus to “take heart, I Am, do not be afraid”. Thank you, Harry.