Faith Over Fear

Mark chapter 4 is full of Jesus teaching both the crowds and his own disciples. Jesus wanted them to know what the kingdom was like. He teaches everyone about a farmer sowing seed and the condition of the soil it was sown on. He taught his disciples privately exactly what he meant. In verses 21-25 Jesus teaches his disciples that they are meant to shine brightly in this dark world and not to be hidden away. This is what it looked like to follow Jesus in the work of the kingdom. 

    The chapter switches gears as Jesus teaches them the next lesson by having them experience it. His disciples needed to know how to deal with fear…it was by having faith!  Jesus calmed the storm by speaking to it. Jesus taught his disciples in such a way that required most of their six senses. I am a visual learner, so I appreciate being able to visualize Jesus’ teachings, healings and miracles as I read my Bible. 

    In this lesson, I am reminded “that without faith it is impossible to please God”. Fear robs me of opportunities to live faithfully. It keeps me in a frozen useless state. Hebrews 11:6 is one of my anchor passages. My faith pleases God!

    Jesus wanted to address the disciples fear and lack of faith. In Mark 4:39, Jesus rebukes the root of the storm by saying “Quiet,” to the wind! “Be still,” to the waves! I can’t help but think that this is what Jesus wants me to do when storms come into my life. He wants me to quiet the loudness that comes into my thoughts, mind and heart. He wants me to be still! Don’t you know that you are in the presence of the Creator of Heaven and Earth? Seemingly, his disciples had yet to consider Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Here Jesus addresses the two things that they had to have the proper perspective on — and that’s to deal with your fear by trusting in Him. Verse 38 clearly shows that they didn’t trust Jesus’ intentions towards them because they asked, “don’t you care if we drown?” Jesus knew that if his disciples didn’t learn to trust Him or deal faithfully with their fear, that they would struggle in their kingdom work. 

    This story resonates with me because I was deathly afraid of drowning. I was so afraid of water that I never wanted to go near it. When I was 10 years old, my dad took our family on a fishing trip. During this trip, a commotion broke out on the lake. Two friends had been fishing in a boat when one fell overboard and couldn’t be found. Search and rescue came but it became a search and recovery mission instead. I will never forget the sight of the man’s lifeless body being pulled from the water and the anguish on the face of his friend as he spoke aloud his thoughts: “How am I going to tell his wife?” 

    I can relate to the disciples panic. Remember that these men were fisherman so this storm had to be unusually strong. What I experienced as a child followed me into adulthood and robbed me of opportunities to live life to the full. It crippled me with irrational fear. Fear consumed my life. I was afraid to speak in public — I dropped public speaking three times in college. Fear has, in the past, hindered my kingdom focus and work.  

    Several years ago, I realized that I was living a life lead by fear instead of faith. I have gone after dealing with the fear of water by prayer, swimming lessons and celebrating each victory I had over the fear. This action has helped me deal with many other fear producing situations in my life. In the same way that Jesus taught the disciples that their fear canceled out their faith, I realized I had to identify my fears in order to truly live out my own faith.

    I pray to deal with every fear with Jesus, not only being my teacher but also my Lord and Savior. Faith over fear!