“Why are Ye Fearful?”
Mark 4:40
As a chronic overthinker with a very vivid imagination, fearfulness is something I often wrestle with. Granted, there are things of which I am not afraid now that were of grave concern to me as a child, but adulthood has brought its own new set of fears. And of course there are also some silly irrational fears—things like phone calls or little harmless garden spiders of which there is no real reason to be afraid.
But you know what? For the Christian, all fear is irrational. Think about the disciples, working frantically to keep their afloat in the storm on the sea of Galilee. Many of these were seasoned fishermen, used to the temperamental weather on that particular body of water. They knew enough to recognize that this was a storm to be afraid of.
And yet, when they finally woke Jesus up and asked if He even cared they were about to die in the storm, what was His response? He stilled the storm, and then asked the disciples,
“Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?” (Mark 4:40)
You and I will face many fearful things in the course of our lives. Yet, though the feelings of fear may be real enough, the saved in Christ have no true cause to be afraid.
And why don’t we have to be afraid? Romans 8:14-17 puts it this way:
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.”
Initially, this passage tells us that if we have accepted Christ’s free gift of salvation, and thus are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we need never fear for our salvation. Whatever in this life might seem terrifying or uncertain, we can lean securely on the certainty of a perfect eternity to come, of unalloyed joy, peace, and freedom from sin in the presence of God Himself forever.
But, as Jesus said, in this life we will have tribulations. What is the child of God to do when the sea of life gets stormy? The next verse in Romans 8 tells us:
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (v.18)
Did you see that? Our sufferings—however real and painful they may prove to be—are not even worthy of being compared with the glory God is planning to bring out of them. You are probably familiar with verse 28 of this same chapter, which says,
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”
The disciples didn’t really need to fear, because they had Jesus in their boat, and He had power over all creation. And that’s how it is for you and me, dear Reader. We don’t need to fear anything, because we have Jesus in our boat. Like the disciples, we may feel He is asleep or somehow unaware of our struggle, but the truth is, He is giving our faith a chance to be exercised and made stronger. He is waiting for just the right moment to calm the storm in just the right way, for our good and His glory.
When the disciples finally woke Jesus up, it wasn’t to ask for His help, but to upbraid Him for His seeming apathy. I think that was the greatest indication of their lack of faith. When you are in a storm, do you run to God with your complaints, or do you run to Him to plead for His help?
The Christian life is not intended to be one of fear, but of faith. Dear Reader, what are you afraid of? Take it to the Lord, and choose to trust that He is with you, He cares deeply, and He has more than enough power to help, to calm, and to strengthen.
“I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4