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When Crises Alarm Us
“It Is I”
by Pastor Cornelius R.
Stam
“Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid” (Mark 6:50).
Already bone-weary from “toiling
and rowing” against a “contrary” wind, and still “in the midst of
the sea” though the night was far gone, they saw something in the distance
that frightened them even more than the storm itself.
It was a ghost — they
thought — and a chilling fear gripped them as they were made to face something
they had never experienced before.
At first, doubtless, they
were petrified, gripped with unspeakable terror.
Then
they “cried out” and in response came the reassuring voice of their own
blessed Master and Lord: “Be of good cheer: it is I; be
not afraid.”
The grim specter that had
filled them with stark dread had turned out to be the Lord Himself, the One whom they loved more deeply
than any other on earth.
See their faces!
Looks of terror have
given way now to looks of relief and joy. Their faces now are wreathed in
smiles.
What a lesson for God’s
people in times of crisis!
When
caught in the grip of unspeakable fear, unable to face what seems to lie ahead,
it is infinitely blessed to hear His voice, saying, “It is I;” not merely “I am here too,” but “it is I.”
“I am
in this trouble you fear to face. Indeed, it is I you will find in all your
troubles if you will look at them more closely.”
Those
who are so careless as to confuse the believer’s standing with his condition
and experience should take note that it is Paul, the one who writes of our
position in the heavenlies, who says in his very last epistle and in its very
last chapter: “At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook
me… Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me…”
(II Timothy 4:16,17).
It was a frightening
experience to have to stand as a Christian before the wicked monster, Nero.
And standing there alone, forsaken by all, served to add hopelessness to
fear.
Ah, but
in his darkest hour “the Lord stood with him, and
strengthened him”.
Yes, Paul knew something
of this, and so might we when crises alarm us.
So
might we hear those encouraging, comforting words: “Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid”.
The Berean Bible Society was founded over
seventy-five years ago for the sole purpose of helping believers understand and
enjoy the Word of God. Our Organization holds without apology to all the
fundamentals of the Christian faith and is evangelical, that
is, we believe that salvation is by grace through faith alone on the basis of the shed
blood of Christ.
We also emphasize the importance of proclaiming the whole
counsel of God in light of the Pauline revelation. Insofar as Paul is the
apostle of the Gentiles, it is our firm conviction that in his epistles alone
we have the doctrine, position, walk, and destiny for the Church, the Body of Christ,
during the dispensation of Grace.
When did the Berean Bible Society actually
have its beginning? Interestingly, it began in a two-room school house in
Preakness (now Wayne), New Jersey. Here a group of believers began to see the importance of
understanding the “the mystery” revealed to Paul, and the urgency of
proclaiming the unadulterated “gospel of the grace of God”. It was Pastor C. R.
Stam’s first pastorate: the Preakness Community Church.
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