Fear. It’s that feeling of impending doom and evil. It’s that panic that causes your body to freeze and your mind to race. It’s the feeling that is all too common and yet very rarely is it welcome. When fear shows its ugly face it consumes us. We fear everything from losing our job, our health, our families, our minds and even our very lives. Does the Bible offer us any help? Does Jesus offer any hope to us? In Mark 4:1 we read that Jesus started teaching by the lake. He spent a good part of the day teaching on everything from the parable of the sower to the parable of the mustard seed. By the end of the day, he was clearly exhausted and so he grabs his 12 closest friends and tells them it was time to head to the other side of the lake. Weary from the day, Jesus leaves the deck and heads down to the stern, just below the deck at the back of the boat. He found just enough room to lay his head down and in no time he was out like a light. And that’s when it all happened. “A furious squall came up and the waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped.” (Mark 4:37). If you read Matthew’s account you read that this storm came without warning (Matthew 8:24). Remember, Jesus was on a boat with trained fisherman. After a lifetime of fishing, these men would have encountered a storm or two while fishing. But this wasn’t just another storm. This was serious. The chance of survival was decreasing by the second. And that’s when it happened. Fear. It overtook the disciples. It whispered in their ear and filled them with panic. If we look at Matthew, Mark and Luke’s account of the story and piece the disciples words together, we find that these were the words of the disciples: “We’re going to drown! Don’t you care? Save us!”
Fear Stems From Focus On Ourselves Do you see where the focus is? It’s on “us.” That’s the basis of fear for the Christian. The disciples were focused on them and not him. Forget the fact that Jesus is with him, forget that he told them they were going to other side of the lake, forget the fact that God himself is still asleep in the boat in the midst of the storm of the century. The mind of the disciples was squarely focused on their troubles.
Fear Causes Us To Question God’s Character The disciples essentially said to Jesus, “Do you know what’s happening? Then why aren’t you doing something about it! Don’t you even care about us?” It’s the same process that we walk through today when we encounter tough times. We first ask God, “Do you see what’s going on in my life?” Clearly, Jesus has this all-knowing ability. He knows everything…absolutely everything. And so, the first question is a rhetorical one. It’s a set up to get us to the point. Question 2–“If you see what’s going on, then why aren’t you doing something to help?” And then we drop the bomb on question 3–“Don’t you care?” And just like that, the integrity and character of God is in question. Fear does that to us. It causes us to question the character of God and it causes us to say really stupid things. Stupid things like…”Don’t you care about me, God?”
Fear Causes Us To Pray Simple Prayers. There’s no room for piety in the face of fear. Our long drawn out prayers suddenly become short, sweet and simple. The disciples prayer was simple, “Lord, save us!” (Matthew 8:25). When things get real, our prayers get real short.
Jesus Isn’t Mad at You For Being Afraid. In all three Gospel accounts where this story is mentioned, the Bible records Jesus rebuking the storm and speaking to his people. Go check it out for yourself. Thumb through Luke 8:22-25, Matthew 8:23-27 and Mark 4:35:41. In all three accounts you’ll find the same response of Jesus. Rebuke the storm, speak to his people. What does this mean? It means that Jesus isn’t mad at you for being afraid. Instead, he wants to help you. That’s the focus of his response to the disciples. He says to them, “Why are you afraid? Where is your faith?” These are words, spoken from a heart of brokenness and a desire to have his followers trust him more. These aren’t words spoken from anger, disgust or rage. Jesus wanted to help deliver them from their fear, not rebuke them for having it.
What Do We Do With Our Fear? Ironically, Mark 4:41 tells us that the disciples moved from a position of fear to a position of absolute terror. They were terrorized by Jesus, who just calmed the fiercest storm with three short words, “Silence! Be Still!” But why were they terrified? Because they didn’t fully understand who Jesus was. The Bible tells us multiple times that the disciples really didn’t fully understand that Jesus was the Christ. So they were terrified. But we have the full revelation of the word of God. We know exactly who Jesus is, the Son of God who took our punishment for us and offers us grace and forgiveness instead. He took our punishment–did you catch that? It’s important. Why? 1 John 4:18 says, “Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment…” But Jesus took our punishment, but simply asks us to give him our fears. The stark reality is, once we give our fears to Christ, we realize that he has already conquered them for us. So today, write your fears out on a notecard. What are you afraid of? Write it down and then grab a sharpie and write the words “1 John 4:18” over the top of your fears. He’s already expelled your fears, and now you can experience his perfect love.
Begg, Allister. “Stilling Life’s Storms.” – Archive. Truth For Life, n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2015.
Clendenen, E. Ray. The New American Commentary: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture: NIV Text. Nashville, TN: B & H Pub. Group, 2009.
Lucado, Max. Fearless: Imagine Your Life without Fear. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2009. Print.
Wiersbe, Warren W. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary. Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2007. Print.