Faith or Fear
by Abiding Love
Mark 4:39-40 — Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
Jesus said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
Please answer for yourself this question: Is fear a sin?
When we think of sins, plenty come to mind — theft, cheating, cursing, rudeness, gossip, the list goes on. But I am not sure we quickly think of fear as sin.
Look at what Jesus said to his disciples. He asks to questions that were meant to be connected. “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” The disciples fear was because they lacked faith.
Sure the disciples were on a boat in the middle of a raging storm. Sure there was life-threatening danger surrounding them. But the Son of God was there in the boat with them. His presence should have calmed their fears.
Is it any different with us? Yes, our life can feel as out of control as standing in a boat getting rocked by waves. Yes, the forecast for the upcoming week could suggest that we are going to hit some stormy days. But the Son of God is with you. He is always with you.
Jesus calmed the storm with a few simple words: “Quiet! Be still!” His divine power is awesome to witness here. That awesome power is present in your lives because Jesus is with you always. Jesus wants us to keep our hearts fixed on Him and our ears listening to his voice in His Word.
If we doubt Jesus’ presence, we remain obsessed by the storms and overwhelmed by troubles. Less faith leads to more fear.
But Jesus says this not to lay a guilt trip on us. He asks us, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” because he wants to bring our attention back to him. Then he can show us his pierced hands — the hands that have lovingly remove every sin from our record and our conscience. His pierced hands have freed us from the fear of ever being punished eternally. Jesus’ pierced hands display the extent of love our Savior has for us. It is a love that abides forever.
The divinely powerful Son of God loves us unconditionally and is always present with us — even in the storms. Just let this sentence sink in for awhile. Reread it a couple times.
Still afraid?
Peace in Jesus,
Pastor John Gensmer
Photo credit: Public Domain Pictures
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