They knew him well. They had watched him closely. They had encountered his beauty, his power, his righteous anger all first hand. They had seen lives and hearts transformed by just his touch, or one word spoken from his mouth. They had witnessed things that we are only privileged to read about. And yet these words came out of Jesus’ mouth to their ears. “Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt?”

Make you feel better about yours? Those doubts that creep in after a financial crisis, a marital crisis, a health crisis, a child crisis. Ours creep in without the first hand accounts of Jesus. We didn’t get to watch him open blinded eyes or heal lepers. We weren’t there when Lazarus came walking out of his tomb without a stench or a scar. So, there is this deep comfort in knowing that if his disciples encountered all of these beautiful pieces of Jesus’ virtues and they doubted that maybe our humanness has an even greater deal of acceptance and understanding.

He countered their doubts by showing them his scars. The holes in his hands. The holes in his feet, the piercing in his side, all made more visual to us now after Mark Burnett’s interpretation of The Bible. I find this the deeply tender side of Jesus. That patient Father portion. He knows how many times He referred to his death and resurrection and yet they still seem unprepared. But he offers them this “It’s okay kids. Let me show you one more time all that I’ve done for you. Just like I told you I would.”

And with the power of His tangible revelation we’re told they were “filled with joy.” Yet he speaks to their fears again. “Peace be with you.”

He speaks the same to us today. The same word of peace to our crisis, our doubt, our disappointment. He comes bearing the same scars, the same power of the resurrection to our scarred and buried and dead places. And He comes with such power and such proven authority on the subject at hand because He needs us. As much as He needed the early disciples to begin the message of the gospel, He needs us today in a world just as desperate for the gospel. His words of peace were followed by “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”

Doubts and fears leave us stagnant, motionless and infective. Powerful play grounds for the enemy’s side show. They are some of his most strategic weapons. And they are for one purpose, to cause us to miss our “sending” moment. After they had seen His face and touched His scars, had they refused to banish the fear and doubt we might possibly not hold the truth of this word in our hands.

What doubt do you need to banish? What fear have you held on to for far too long? What might be missed if we cling to them still? This is our “sending” moment. God desires to use us mightily in this generation for this Kairos moment of our destiny

1.  Those really are two questions that need to be asked of our hearts? What are my doubts? What are my fears?

2. What are those doubts and fears trying to keep me from pursuing? Or where might they keep me from being “sent”?

3. Using your concordance look up five scriptures on peace. Use these passages as points of meditation this week.

4. What are some specific ways you can see God has tried to speak peace to your own heart?

5. What steps of faith should you take now in light of God’s desire to “send” you?