People sometimes have anxiety about being baptized. God wants us to perform this act as a confession of faith and to show obedience. When you truly want to be all in with the Lord of the universe-it is an act you can willingly complete. It really is ceremonial like taking the body and blood of Jesus during communion. This however, asserts in front of the body of Christ that you love the Lord, are committed to his principles and take Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life.

If you are truly a believer, then anxiety should be washed away and you will be renewed and cleansed as white as snow-as one of the old hymns states. Even Jesus Christ knew how important this was to his father-as you can see in Matthew 3:13-17.

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Jesus goes to John the Baptist in the River Jordan and John is humbled that he would be asked to do this. But he did and it brought great joy to the Father as the scripture states.

I was baptized 40 years ago and it is an event in your life you will never forget. You come up out of the water after the confession and you are transformed. The old person is left in the water and a fresh-vibrant person emerges from those waters. I felt like the Holy Spirit filled me up. My eyes were opened to the new me and I was ready to take on my new mission. But there is a cost to claiming Jesus as Lord and Savior. Your old ways were buried. There are new expectations for your life going forward. Any behaviors that conflict with God’s purpose and path for your life have to be addressed.

You are now an extension of your Savior and an ambassador for him as well as all Christians. There is a higher standard you must achieve and maintain to make sure people see that example they expect, when you share that you are a Christian. You have to do a full blown assessment of your behaviors and beliefs and  put them up against the template of Jesus’ expectations.

When I was a new Christian I found out that may mean reassessing the relationships with people in your life. There may be people whose influence could derail you as an advocate for God. I had to remove a few people that may have made it difficult to live up to the standard God had set. I still was friends but we just couldn’t hang out like we used to. For some people this is really tough love but it was necessary to be the Christian I needed to be. Also, things you do in your life need to be evaluated and addressed. My personal issue was profanity. In my family using profanity was just a normal part of life and communication. It took me years to clean up this habit. At this point I have almost totally cleaned it up but even now occasionally slip. When I do, I immediately ask for forgiveness from God. I’ve worked with people who use profanity and I have had to ask them not to do it in front of me. I know this could be uncomfortable but it’s the only way to purge the environment and help to keep you from sinning and being a bad example.

There are many other issues in life that can be speed bumps you have to encounter and defeat. But the Lord is counting on you to manage them and make him pleased with you when you defeat them. When you declare your allegiance to Jesus you realize it is the biggest and only decision in your life. It is so transformative that you never have to look back. Anxiety and frustration debating this decision will completely melt away. It’s not a commitment for just a moment but secures you place in eternity. Look at the truth in this scripture-Psalm 34:4.

⁴ I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.

When you welcome Jesus into your heart all your fears will be taken care of as it states. Emotions are in this world and can twist you into knots at times. But in the context of forever and your eventual heavenly home-they have no bearing. The exhilaration you receive from being God’s child-is euphoric and takes you to a level you’ve never experienced. The devil is there around every turn and he is the only one who can truly try to sabotage your victory directly or through others. But the best news is that God knows the ending. Satan will be defeated and you will enjoy eternity with your Savior. There is no greater sense of contentment you will experience.