Both of our children have incredible imaginations. They dream up the most fascinating adventures. My daughter plays out her days with her own never-ending stories. However, when the night comes, her imagination can sometimes get the best of her.

In the dark hours, I awake to her cries. Half asleep, I tumble into her room.

I grumble “What’s wrong?”

“I’m scared.”

I take a breath. Her fear lacks logic. The night light shines bright. The lullabies play softly. Her brother breathes heavily in the bed beside her. She’s safe.

“There’s a lion in my room.”

I soften my tone, reminding myself how real the lions feel to her. “You’re safe.”

I assure her the lions are far, far away. I remind her of the truth, that Jesus is with her. He keeps her safe and secure. Her little heart calms, slowly, and her mind allows her to fall into rest once again.

Fear, at any age, can be a tricky thing. It causes us to not see clearly. Rather than seeing what’s right in front of us, anxiety plagues us about what could happen. Downtrodden in ‘what if,’ we find it impossible to find rest. Like my daughter, in the trenches of the night, we forget the simple comfort that Jesus is with us.

We can take comfort in that Jesus’s own disciples struggled with this as well. In Matthew 8, we see the disciples spiral as they forget who lies beside them. As you may remember, the story begins with the disciples following Jesus into a boat. They go out to sea, Jesus falls asleep, a storm comes, the disciples give way to fear. In desperation, the disciples call out to Jesus in verse 25, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” They know, then, that Jesus can indeed save them from this trial. Jesus responds, seemingly like I do with my 3 year old in the night—tired, frustrated. “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?”

All of chapter eight up until this point is filled with miracles. Healing after healing, the disciples saw Jesus accomplish the impossible. They had followed Jesus at all cost up until this point, but they still do not know Jesus’ true identity. If they had faith in Jesus as their Savior, they wouldn’t have been overcome by the storm in front of them. They trusted what their eyes showed them—a storm growing so powerful that it could take their lives. And yet, Jesus was right there. The Son of Man was right there in that boat. They had nothing to fear. And that was what Jesus meant. Remember who I am. I’m the one who has come to save you. I’ve come to rescue you from sin and death. The storms and waves cannot take this away. You surely won’t perish. Have faith.

My daughter won’t always fear the lion under the bed. Her fears, like mine, will change with the seasons. While anxiety might manifest differently as we age, its influence remains the same. Fear causes us to not see clearly. When we succumb to the storms we face, we put our trust in fear instead of the One who’s already rescued us from it all.

As His disciples continued to draw near to Him, Jesus patiently taught them what a life of truth faith looked like. As we draw near to Jesus by spending time in prayer and in His word, our earthly fears fade away. We fix our hearts on the Truth. This gentle, merciful Maker of the Universe, who simultaneously defeated death and made a way for us to call Him friend.

There are many times I am tricked by my worries, just as my daughter was tricked in the night. I find myself weak in faith like the disciples. I fix my eyes on my worries, rather than fixing my eyes on the One who calms the waves and the wind with only a word. And yet, He answers us gently. He reminds us we are safe. There’s nothing to fear. He gives us the strength and grace we need to depend on Him as we walk through the storms that come our way. We can then breathe deep and rest easy in Christ.

Written by Rachel Rowe. Rachel is a wife to Caleb and mama to Adalyn, Oliver, and Eliza. When she’s not at home, you might find her teaching Bible Study, gathering for Book Club, or sipping lattes at a local coffee shop. Through it all, she’s learning to let the Word of Christ dwell in her heart—and finding out what that looks like in the everyday moments. Follow along on Instagram @thedwellblog