Fear! We see lots of it in the reading this morning. The disciples are in a boat, crossing the Sea of Galilee. A storm comes up, and things get scary. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. (Mark 4:37, KJV) Such is the nature of a storm, and such is the nature of man in response to a storm—fear!
Notice the disciple’s fear-driven response. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” (Mark 4:38, NLT). Fear had convinced the disciples that Jesus didn’t care about them, and they went so far as to predict their future—they were going to drown! Interestingly, none of it was true or came true. Yet fear made it all seem very real. Did Jesus really not care about His disciples? Were they going to drown?
Looking back on the whole story, we have the advantage of knowing the end. However, the disciples lived in real time and couldn’t see the end. This is where trust comes into the picture. Notice the question Jesus asks. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:40, ESV) Sure, they had seen Jesus heal the sick, restore sight to the blind, make the lame walk, and cast out demons, but now they are at the center of a miracle, and the faith they saw in others was not so easy!
God can be trusted! The wave’s height and the storm’s ferocity do not matter to God’s power. God cares! Was not Jesus in the boat with His disciples? Believers, let’s not allow the nature of a storm to inflame that nature within all of us to fear. Who is this that even the wind and sea obey—it is God! Our God!
Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Matthew 8:14-34; Mark 4-5.