Proximity. According to my online dictionary it means this: “nearness in place, time, order, occurrence, or relation; closeness.”

Being in close proximity to the right things or people changes how you think and feel.

Example 1: You’re alone in the forest at dusk and a shadowy figure approaches. You’re afraid. But what if you are in close proximity to your one hundred pound guard dog? That changes things. 

Example 2: A student is away from home and on the other side of the country at university. Friends have been hard to make and the schoolwork isn’t what she expected it would be. She’s alone and sad. But then her mother shows up. They have a wonderful relationship that is both loving and trusting. It’s a perfectly timed visit, and it changes things. 

In Mark 6 the disciples were afraid. They were in a boat, struggling against the wind. Jesus approached. He was walking on the water! They cried out in fear. That’s when Jesus said: “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid” (verse 50). He got in the boat and the wind calmed down.

Proximity to Jesus changes things. The disciples got to experience a physical proximity to their teacher and Lord. We aren’t in the same boat as them. (Mind the pun.) But as we learn about him, follow him, and as we build our relationship with him, we experience a spiritual proximity. 

You experience less fear when Christ is near.

If you are disinterested and distant from Christ, your mind can become easily preoccupied with problems and stresses. They are, in a sense, “closer.”

But when you are pursuing God and staying close to him, your problems and stresses will take up less real estate in your thoughts. I’m not saying they’ll go away entirely, but they will be less dominant in your thinking.

Being in close proximity to the right things or people changes how you think and feel.

So day by day build a lifestyle which draws you closer to what and who matters most.

You experience less fear when Christ is near.

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Notes:

–“Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid. [Proximity]” Sermon. January 12, 2025. Click here.

–Bible quotes are from the ESV.