Matthew 8. 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.
Afraid, is a
real thing. But, being afraid is a choice.
The question for them, and the question to us is: Why are you so afraid? My answer: Well, Lord, things aren’t working out quite
like I planned. His response: Who is
in control of all of this: Me or you? My confession: Well, You are Lord. But… His reply: But what? If I am in control, then why are you so afraid?
Their complaint: Well,
Lord! The boat! The wind! The waves! You were sleeping! It was terrifying! We
had to do something! Thank God, er, You, that You were here! We’d have sunk!
Afraid is a
real thing. We go through it all the time. Well, some of us do. And being
afraid is the natural response to the fears that creep in when circumstances
don’t go our way. The fears, the what-ifs. These things plague us and tear away
at our faith. Our faith can either be feeble or ferocious – we get to choose.
God’s response to His children is: Why are you so afraid? The divine question is designed to penetrate deeply
into our souls: when is it that God has
stopped being God? It is designed to get us to stop, look, and listen to
the noise in our minds and decide if it is real or imagined. I could’ve been killed! Is the excuse.
But the question comes back, Well, were you?
And God’s real question: Where am I in your fears? Am I gone in your minds because you
insist on looking to your fears rather than to Me. If so, you are left with
fear, and left without faith. And without faith you are lost, doomed, and back
to where you were before you claimed Me: dead in your trespasses and sins.
Jesus wasn’t irritated with them because of their lack of
faith. He may have been disappointed, but He wasn’t mad. I think He uses these
stories to show us how He helped them, and, how He’ll help us. Without faith,
it is impossible to please Him. Insisting upon fear is deeply tragic and gets
us nowhere fast.
Probably one of the biggest battles in this unpredictable
life of ours is: the battle of belief.
Fears untamed go a long way to diminish our faith. Faith in Jesus frees us from
fear.
Lord, today I ask not
that You increase my faith, but that You help me to use what I already have.
According to You, a little goes a long way. You know my circumstances and my
lack of sleep last night. I bring all of my concerns before You and lay them at
Your feet. Do with them as You will, and let me walk with You in faithful peace
this day. Amen
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