And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins . . .Ephesians 2: 1, NKJV.
Dear God, what a privilege it is to be alive, really alive, in Christ Jesus! In His name we give You praise, honor and glory! Amen, Amen, and Amen!
Those who are alive in Christ Jesus need not fear death, because death no longer has dominion over them. They have been made alive in Christ Jesus our Lord! Their life is now preserved at a much higher level! They have passed from death to life.
I believe that no matter how challenging or fearful a situation seems to be, once you have “been there,” the fear is not as acute as the “fear of the unknown.” As a matter of fact in some cases – the fear is completely eradicated after an encounter with that fearful situation. Based on this assumption therapists have used several methods, including Virtual Reality therapy in helping people conquer their fears. A scenario similar to a real life situation is created where people come face to face with the very thing they fear and “deal” with it.
Other methods of dealing with our fears are Desensitization which lessens our emotional response to a situation; and Perceptual Change which allows us to perceive differently the effects of a situation. I believe the latter describes quite accurately what we as Christians undergo when we accept Jesus into our lives. Because He becomes our life, and He is alive forevermore, we begin to lose our fear of anything, or anyone.
Gloria Gaither expressed it quite beautifully when she penned the words to the refrain of this comforting hymn Because He Lives: “Because He lives I can face tomorrow, Because He lives all fear is gone; Because I know He holds the future. And life is worth the living just because He lives.”
In Ephesians 1 the Apostle Paul says it this way: “. . . the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places . . .” (18-20, emphasis provided).
Knowing and having proven God’s mighty power in our lives – those “who believe” can look life, with all its difficulties and challenges in the eye and say with full assurance: “It is good to be made alive in Christ!”