Why So Fearful?
The following is an adapted excerpt from A Word in Season: 50 Days of Hope for Hard Times.
But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”
Mark 4:40
The disciples thought that they were about to die. Seasoned fishermen, as many of them were, and familiar with the Sea of Galilee, as several would have been, they were persuaded that their time had come. They were crossing over the sea. “A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.” The Lord Christ was with them. He was asleep on a pillow in the stern of the boat, “and they awoke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’ Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” And then the Lord Jesus said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” (vv. 37–40).
Perhaps you can imagine the disciples looking at him in wonderment at that point. “Why are you so fearful?!” Just moments ago, they could have pointed to the raging winds and waves! They could have explained that these things were about to overwhelm and swamp them! That is why they were afraid. “Look at what’s around us! Look at what’s been happening to us! Look at what’s taking place against us! We’re about to die!” Perhaps the question seemed more striking, given the complete absence of anything threatening them now.
We may be very much in the same circumstances. We are caught in a great storm. The waves beat into our boat so that we feel as if we are about to die. As we see the vessel being swamped by the winds and the waves, we may forget that Christ is with us, or we doubt his compassion toward us and his power in connection with his glory, his deity, and his heart of love. “Does Christ not care that we are perishing? Is Jesus ignorant of what is going on and careless with regard to his people? Can he not see that we are dying? Does he not know that we are in danger of being swamped?”
As Christians, we may feel this way individually. We look around us and say, “Everything is going wrong.” It seems there are just too many troubles and trials; “I am about to be swamped, and I cannot endure.” We might feel this as a congregation, perhaps due to our smallness, the opposition around us, or our own weakness. We may feel it on a slightly larger scale—sister churches feeling themselves on the brink of collapse due to a perceived lack of strength or vitality and the presence of danger. The culture is against us, and the people around us despise and disregard us. There is antagonism, perhaps from certain movers and shakers. There is even disdain from others who identify as Christians. We might think there is no hope for us.
If Christ were to ask us, “Why are you so fearful?” we would just sweep our arm around and say, “Can’t you see? This is why we are afraid!” But what if Christ stilled the storm? What if Christ spoke, and all those things were (at least momentarily) subdued or taken away, and there was a great calm? What would we be afraid of then? Then, we would be saying, “Well, just a moment ago, just a few seconds ago, not long before . . .” Yes, but see that Christ is with you, and know that Christ cares for you, and understand that Christ has strength in his great hand. He is not overcome by anything. He is the one who has made the winds and the waves. He is the one who controls and governs all the things that are around us. They are absolutely under his dominion. When he speaks, the storm is still.
So how is it that we have no faith? Have we forgotten the person of our Savior? Have we forgotten his willingness to save and to bless? Have we forgotten his ability to save and to keep? We do not need to be afraid. That is hard, but it is true. Because Christ is with us, we can smile at the storm through faith in him, who loves us and keeps us to the very end.
Meet the author:
Jeremy Walker
Jeremy Walker serves as a pastor of Maidenbower Baptist Church in Crawley, England, and is married to Alissa, with whom he enjoys the blessing of three children. He has authored several books, and is grateful to preach, teach, and write as opportunity provides.
