Fearful or Faithful?
“And He said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?” Mark 4:40
Can you imagine being filled with fear about some situation going on in your life while Jesus is standing right in front of you looking into your anxious eyes with His eyes of love and compassion as He holds the power of heaven and earth in His hand? Would you feel silly, ashamed, or embarrassed that you didn’t by faith trust the King of kings and Lord of lords to handle whatever was causing you to be so afraid? Well, you might reply that Jesus is not standing right in front of you, but know that if He is in your heart, He is about as close as He can get to you, and He desires to calm your fear.
The above verse is taken from a time that Jesus and His disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee by ship, and a fierce storm arose. Jesus was sound asleep with His head resting on a pillow in the back of the ship getting some much needed rest, but His disciples were beside themselves with fear. They woke Jesus up and wanted Him to do something and do it quickly. Their fear caused them to question Jesus’ concern for them. They asked Him, “Master, do You not care that we are about to perish?” (paraphrased). To their credit, they believed that He could rescue them from this storm, but they weren’t willing to take Him on faith that they would arrive at their destination safe and sound even as He slept. In other words, their weak faith required them to see Him act right then, right there. He did calm the storm for them, but He also questioned their lack of faith.
We are just like those disciples. We pray and expect an instant answer to our request, but when the answer doesn’t come immediately, that is when our faith must be strong. God doesn’t work on our timetable. He knows when, what, where, and how to solve our problems. It could be that He doesn’t change our situation; instead He changes us. So the next time fear grips your heart, imagine Christ standing before you, looking into your worried eyes and asking, “What are you doing? I’ve got this, so stop fretting. You don’t have the ability to handle this, but I do. So let Me. I love you.”