“Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid…”

Genesis 46;3

Jacob must have been scared, because whenever God says “Don’t be afraid,” it means the person He’s speaking to is terrified.

The thought of what lie ahead drained the blood from Jacob’s face and made his hands cold. He dreaded it. He didn’t want to go even though he knew in his heart it was necessary.

Jacob had experienced so much loss. Trauma had marked him. And the idea of going to Egypt raised fears of yet more unbearable loss. But, on the other hand, it would be even more dangerous to stay where he was. The famine was not survivable. He had to go. He had to keep moving.

The boys promised him that Joseph was alive and that they would all be together again as a family, but still, Jacob was afraid. He was old and his heart couldn’t take much more disappointment.

But as He always does, God graciously met Jacob in his fear. In his moment of dread, God reassured Jacob with these powerful words:

“I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again…”

Genesis 46:4

Since the beginning, God’s way of helping those who are scared is to simply say to us over and again, “Hey, I’m with you in this.” The more you read Scripture, you will notice this has consistently been God’s message to the frightened:

“I have been with you. I am with you now. I will always be with you.”

If you swap the position of the “c” and the “a” in the word scared, suddenly you have sacred instead. Interesting. God meets us when we are scared and to strengthen our faith, He reminds us that He is with us and for us.

Every time He does that it is a sacred moment.

It’s a new day with God. Run with it.