When I was a teenager, I had a paper route. I remember one occasion when there was a vicious looking dog – a doberman pinser, normally in the back yard behind a gate – sitting on the front step, watching me approach with teeth bared, a barely audible growl coming to my ear. I had to put the paper behind the front door, but had to get past the dog. It was a scary thought, but…

Sitting with the dog was the dog’s master, the homeowner whom I knew well. We had many good conversations together, and he was a good tipper. He had his hand on the dogs collar, and with a gentle cuff he silenced the dogs growl, and the dog looked up, then at me (still showing teeth) and was quiet. Because the master was there, and I was in a good relationship with the master, I proceeded with boldness, and handed the paper to him, my hand within inches of that killer dogs teeth.

It was not the absence of fear but the presence of the master that emboldened me. This is how it is for us in relationship with Jesus, joined (or yoked) to Him. It is the presence of the Master, not the absence of danger, that gives us courage when we are afraid. We keep our eyes on Jesus, we trust our well-being to Him. We discover that though things like restlessness, worry and strife are very real, we are not yoked to them. They do not own us, they do not control us, they are not our master. Jesus is, and with Him we are secure for eternity. Nothing, not even a vicious dog, can separate us from His love.

Have you experienced this peace?