From Fear to Boldness

You're listening to the My Morning Devotional podcast, episode 1514. Today's Diva was called From Fear to Boldness. Hey there. We're the Alessi's, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional podcast. Hello, everyone, my name is Lauren Alessi and I am your host for this week. I hope you are enjoying this week so far. I know I'm having fun. I was just talking to Solon. She's in the room with me. We're like, this is a fun week. We're having a fun time, like talking about this today. So every day this week we have taken a person from the Bible and talked about how their life was directly impacted by Jesus, his resurrection story, the crucifixion, everything. We talked about Peter, yesterday, Thomas, Mary, and today we're talking about the disciples as a whole, all of them. And we can learn about their story and how they were impacted by Jesus's life. So again, just because there's a lot to cover and just a little bit of verse, we're going, I'm going to give you a little bit of context out of where we're reading from. And all of this is reading out of the book of John. So I would. It's basically all John, chapter 20 and 21. So I'd recommend going back and just reading John 20 and John 21. It's a quick read. There's a lot of amazing history in it, a lot of great, like, revelation in it. So just go ahead and just give it a quick read for yourself if you want. So out of this story, what we're reading today is that this is when Jesus appears to all, all of the disciples for the first time. So he's appeared to Mary Magdalene. She was the first one that she was like, dibs. I got to see Jesus first and then now he's going to go see the disciples. And Mary came to them and she's like, guys, warning, like, Jesus is alive. But they're like, what are you talking about? That's wild, that's crazy. But also just a little bit of context to where the disciples are at. They're terrified because you're talking about somebody who was just killed in the middle of the street, very publicly, very violently. And these were Jesus's Followers. So they're kind of like, if he just got killed, I'm next. He was arrested. He was beaten, he was bruised. He was killed brutally. We need to all be in hiding because we could be next. And we also, like, everybody saw us walking with him, teaching with him. So there was a lot of fear in the room when this event took place. So let's start reading John, chapter 20, verses 19 through 21. And it says this. On the evening of that first day, the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear. Jesus came and stood among them and said, peace be with you, as the Father has sent me. I am sending you. Let's repeat that. The disciples were together with the doors locked for fear. Jesus just came and stood among them and said, peace be with you, as the Father has sent me. I am sending you. So what do we see here is that the disciples were terrified. They had the doors locked. They were like, someone's gonna come get us. We're next. And Jesus just appears in the room out of thin air, like a miracle happened. And Jesus is in the room, and he's like, I gotta calm them down, because they're gonna freak out. Peace be with you. Which essentially is Hebrew for, y' all calm down. It's me. God has sent me, and I'm gonna send you out because we're not done. There's no need to be fearful. And then what we see here is that after having to convince them, it's me, I'm alive. Mary Magdalene was right. I'm alive. Immediately, they're met with a calm presence, and Jesus is able to bring peace. Jesus is able to bring boldness, a boldness enough to even proclaim more ministry into the streets. So I kind of find it amazing because the disciples were so terrified that they were inside a room with the doors locked, probably whispering to each other from one second to the next. They're filled with passion, amped for ministry, ready to go. And the only person, the only thing that changes is Jesus comes into the room. And I think we can relate to that, because we could be so full of fear sometimes, so full of anxiety, so full of. But I don't know about this. But I don't know about this. And one thing can drastically change everything, drastically change the way we view a situation. And that is when we know Jesus is on our side. And the disciples were so excited about ministry, felt like they were on fire, invincible when Jesus was walking with them. But they felt terrified when they realized Jesus was dead. Now he's alive. He's on our side, we got him. But I think when we fall into the trap of, but Jesus isn't on my side, but Jesus isn't next to me, but I don't have Jesus, how am I going to do this? We fall into the trap of fear, we fall into the trap of anxiety. But when we get into alignment and agreement of, we have the same power on the inside of us that raised Christ from the dead, we can do anything. That's what's on the inside of us, that Jesus is on our side. That fear must turn to boldness. So just like the disciples that day, where is fear holding you back? Is there fear holding you back from following Jesus boldly? Because you know your friends will make fun of you, maybe family will make fun of you, because maybe you're going to lose a bit of your past life? I don't know. Where is fear holding you back from? Is it holding you back from doing something you know could be really amazing for you? And wherever fear is holding you back from, recognize that Jesus is on your side. Recognize that Jesus wants you to be bold. And recognize that Jesus is the key to that boldness. And just like the disciples, once you realize Jesus is in the room with me, and look, Jesus can appear in your heart and in your life like that, just like he did with the disciples. The door was locked and he's like, guys, I'm here, calm down. God can do that in your life. You just gotta call on him. But wherever there is fear holding you back, replace that fear with Jesus boldness and courage. Let's pray. Dear Lord, we thank you so much for your example, God, your example of boldness. God not fear. Your word shows us, Lord, that yes, you had worries that day in the garden. God, you had worries that day because you're human. But Lord, you never got stuck in a place of fear. So Lord, help us not to get stuck in a place of fear, but help us to walk in boldness and help us to walk in courage. And wherever there is fear holding us back, Lord, help us give it to you. And Lord, we ask that you partner with us. We ask that you come by our side, Lord, walk with us so we can walk with courage, faith and boldness and not fear. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. So there you have it, your 5 minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend, leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow. We pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.