On Fear and Faith

 

On Fear and Faith (Mark 4:35-41)

“Why are you frightened? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40)

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After Jesus finished teaching us about seeds and soil and the kingdom of God, he suggested that we get in the boat and go to the other side of the lake. I was fortunate to get a seat along with his twelve disciples. Or so I thought.

It had been a long day, and so Jesus went to the stern and took a nap. He was fast asleep in a matter of minutes.

As the boat reached deep water in the middle of the lake, a storm hit us out of nowhere. In the blink of an eye, we went from smooth sailing to the boat taking on water faster than we could bail it out. The wind and the waves were beating us mercilessly, and the rain was stinging our faces. We were all terrified.

All, that is, except Jesus. There he was, still sleeping like a baby. We cried out to him, “Don’t you care that we are going down?” Jesus awoke, stood up, and looked out over the water. Then he spoke, not to us, but to the storm: “Be quiet! Be still!” And the wind immediately went quiet, and the waves immediately were still as glass.

Then Jesus turned his attention to the rest of us in the boat. I don’t know if he was disappointed in us, or just frustrated, but he said, “Why are you so fearful? Do you still not have faith in me?”

The other disciples were caught up in awe and wonder. “Who is this, that even the wind and waves obey him?” But I was thinking about Jesus’ words to us: “Don’t you have any faith in me?” It made me realize that I, like the others in the boat, let my fear get the best of me. So, instead of coming to Jesus in faith (you know, like the faith of the four friends of the paralyzed man), I accused him of not even caring.

As I walk with Jesus day by day, I am coming to understand that my walk with Jesus is meant to translate into faith in Jesus. The words I hear Jesus say, and things I see Jesus do – these are meant to cultivate faith, trust in Jesus. 

In my walk with Jesus, I have seen him cast out demons. I have seen him moved with compassion at the plight of outcasts. I have seen him pushing himself past the point of exhaustion to heal the sick. I have witnessed time and again the care that Jesus has for people who are afflicted and who suffer.

So, when I found myself in troubled waters, why did I think he didn’t care about me? I think it was because my fear was greater than my faith.

If I learned anything in the boat that day, I hope that I learned that Jesus cares. I mean, he did wake up when we cried out to him. The storm didn’t bother him, but our cries got his attention. He does care. And he has the power to act on his care for me. 

I know that I’m going to go through more storms in my life, both real and figurative. I hope that, the more I walk with Jesus, the more my faith in him will be able to over come my fear of the storms. I do know that Jesus cares about me. He cares about every detail of my life. 

The next time a storm comes upon me, I hope that the first words I speak to Jesus aren’t, “Don’t you care?”, but instead, “Please help.”

Dear Lord, as I walk with you, I pray that the more I come to know you, my faith and trust in you will only grow and grow and grow. Give me courage to face the troubles that will inevitably come upon me, knowing that you are with me, and that you care for me, and that you will get me through adversity. I don’t always know how you will act on my behalf. But I do know that you will act for me out of your great love and according to your infinite wisdom. And that is enough. Thank you. Amen.