“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
—John 14:29 (NKJV)
Easter is a time that can be filled with divine appointments to talk about Jesus and His sacrifice for our sins. But often, the opportunity to share one’s faith is missed because of fear and insecurity.
“Satan can try to interrupt those moments for each and every one of us,” Cissie Graham Lynch explained.
On her latest Fearless podcast, Lynch asked her brother Will Graham how people can share their faith in these times and why it’s important.
“The peace that people are looking for in life only comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” Will Graham said. “Peace is given by God to those who put their faith in Jesus Christ, and that’s why Easter is so important.”
Listen to the special Easter edition of Fearless below:
‘I Chickened Out’
Will Graham, who shared an Easter message online on Good Friday, opened up about an opportunity he missed to tell someone about Jesus when he was younger and the regret he felt.
“I missed an opportunity to have an impact for eternity,” he said.
Graham and his now wife, Kendra, were headed back to Liberty University after visiting their grandparents in Montreat, North Carolina, and stopped to get fuel.
It was Easter Sunday.
“I went in the store to pay, and there was another couple in front of me. [While talking to the cashier] they made the comment like, ‘Nothing is free anymore,’” Graham recalled.
“Right then the Holy Spirit said, ‘Tell them about Easter,’” he continued. “And I’m thinking to myself, ‘Lord no, I don’t know these people.’”
Graham left the store without a word to the couple, “And I’ve regretted it to this day.”
“I chickened out. I made excuses. I wasn’t bold,” he admitted.
And so often, we find ourselves in similar situations, losing our confidence in Christ and allowing fear to take hold of our faith.
Nothing Without Jesus
“A year ago last Easter, fear struck the world,” Lynch said, referring to the start of the pandemic.
“Whether you fear the loss of a job, the loss of a loved one … the fear of maybe losing your marriage—fear is nothing new,” she continued.
But the Easter story offers the peace we need for any situation.
“The man who knew no sin became sin for us,” Graham explained. “Without Jesus dying, I could never know Him. I can’t have peace, I can’t have joy, I can’t have meaning.”
And the promise doesn’t end on the cross.
>>Read More: 4 Dimensions of the Cross
“The resurrection changes everything,” Graham continued. “It’s what gives us hope that everything will be made right, that this world won’t always be broken.”
Graham looked to the story of the thief on the cross as a reminder that putting your faith in Christ doesn’t require perfection. Hanging next to Jesus on his own cross, the man cried out, ‘Lord remember me!’
“All he could do was cry out,” Graham said. “He couldn’t join any Bible studies. He never tithed, never joined a church. And Jesus said, ‘You can be with me in paradise.’ Why? Because he believed.”
