In Matthew 8 we find the following:
23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” 26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
I pondered Jesus’ question: “Why are you so afraid?” Why indeed are we so afraid? Well, for one thing, the world is a scary place, and getting scarier by the moment. Cancer is diagnosed, wars are raging, children go astray, marriages disintegrate, jobs are lost, homes are foreclosed upon, anxiety controls, and depression smothers and this doesn’t even take into account the headlines from today’s newspaper. We are afraid because we can’t control all the stuff that is going on. We are afraid because the world seems so out of control and every day might just be our last to walk the dusty road of earth.
I don’t know what tone of voice Jesus used when He asked the disciples this question. I know which one I would have used, but thankfully, I am not God. Was He exasperated or wearied or troubled or just mad as a hornet? I don’t know. What I do know is that whatever was running through His mind at that moment was not enough to stop Him from being God and calming the storm in order to calm His children.
Unfortunately Jesus does not always follow up His, “Why are you so afraids?” with an immediate calming of our storms. Sometimes He chooses instead to calm His child while the storm rages around her. This is where our faith must step in and be activated.
As I sat in church this morning I looked at the familiar faces around me. A dear woman dealing with betrayal by her husband and learning to walk the sod of earth by herself. Another sweet lady who has just put her Alzheimer’s afflicted husband in the nursing home and she is learning to walk alone in a different way. Families struggling to make ends meet while the ends keep moving. A confused single mom who wants to do the right thing for her baby, but she keeps making poor choices. Me, longing to walk in a way that pleases my Lord, but messing up way too often. “Why are you so afraid?” This world is frightening to be sure and sometimes our faith is weak.
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11: 1 NIV) In the midst of our fear, our faith tells us to put our hope in Jesus and hold on tightly. He is either going to calm our storm or calm our soul in the midst of the storm. Whichever way He chooses, He is going for the greater glory!! Grab onto one of the 365 ‘fear nots’ in God’s Word and trust His heart!
