Don't be afraid.

^“ Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,^[e] striving together as one for the faith of the gospel ²⁸ without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God.” (Philippians 1:27-28)

The past few weeks have seen major upheavals in the way we all live our lives. The overwhelming message to the church at this time is to stand firm, proclaim the gospel and don’t be afraid.

Jesus gave us His stellar example of courage and fortitude as He lived His last days here on Earth. He suffered betrayal and denial by His closest friends, rejection, unjust persecution, and horrendous and inhumane torture until death on a cross. Beyond even these things, He suffered the unimaginable experience of bearing the whole of humanity’s sin- He knew and felt every terrible sin of every human, past present and to come. Beyond even this, He experienced complete separation from His Father God. 

We will never need to suffer in the same way as Jesus. We are promised that God will never leave us, nor forsake us. The gospel story proclaims that death was not the end for Jesus. It was the triumph over death and sin.  Jesus returned from death. His burial tomb was found empty. He appeared to His despairing disciples, commissioning them to spread the gospel throughout this world. He ascended to Heaven, but sent His Holy Spirit to His believers to strengthen and empower them.

The reality of Christ can change everyone. Peter, who ran away and denied Christ was transformed into a bold and authoritative preacher. Paul, who persecuted the newly-formed Christian church was transformed by a personal encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus and became one of Christ’s most influential disciples, establishing churches and writing many portions of the New Testament. 

God is still available today, to every person, in every circumstance, through a simple prayer of faith in Jesus Christ. 

We need not be afraid of anything this life throws at us.