Fearless God: Rachel Leininger

“I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble,
but take courage, I have conquered the world.”
– John 16:33

Our theme for this conference is Fearless. In the keynote address for Saturday night, Rachel Leininger let us know that, in this world, we will never be able to abandon every fear. We know God can handle any fear we have. In fact, we know that He has already won the war over fear. But, we are not God. We are bound by our humanity. We inherited a fallen nature from Adam and Eve when they committed the first sin in the Garden of Eden. Thus, we have fear.  We have troubles. We have pain and suffering. In the verse quoted above, Jesus even tells us that in this world we will have trouble. However, He also told us that He has conquered the world.

Jesus became human and was like us in so many ways. He experienced pain, suffering, abandonment, doubt, and even fear. The only way that He was not like us, was that He never sinned. So, if God never sinned, but God did have fear – we know that fear is not a sin. We know that we can expect to be afraid sometimes. The good news is, we don’t need to stay afraid.

By dying on the Cross, Jesus destroyed any power that fear has. Fear trembles at the presence of Jesus. When we receive the Eucharist, our hearts are transformed, so that they can become more like His Sacred Heart. His Heart overflowed with love for all of us as He was crucified.  That love continues to flow out to each of us via the Sacraments.

Through the Eucharist, we have a way to access the infinite God. He is so accessible and present that our hearts can rest safely in His Heart. God wants your heart to be filled with His love. The Lord wants to transform you. He loves you totally and completely, and He wants you to love Him. But, He will never force you. You are His beloved, and He is waiting for you to choose Him. We don’t need to be afraid, because Jesus has dominion over all fear.  Let Him have dominion over your heart. He loves you.

Reflection Questions

  1. What do you need to bring to Jesus?
  2. What do you need to leave at the foot of the Cross?
  3. Will you accept His love?

Watch the Saturday evening session here!

Written by Amanda Jelavich