And He said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith? Mark 4:40
A man had taken his three nephews to a wilderness cabin for a few days of fishing. They stayed in a cabin that was in a bend of the river, with the stream swirling by their doorstep. The second night they were there, a tremendous storm burst upon them, with heavy rain that caused the river to rise rapidly. Even after the rain stopped, the water continued to rise, and the man led the boys onto the roof of the cabin for safety. He stretched out his blanket on the roof, and lay back to sleep. But the boys became anxious as the water swirled about the cabin, fearful that they were about to be swept away. As the little building trembled beneath them, they woke their uncle, and told him their fears. He assured them the cabin was safe; he knew it was built on a concrete foundation and was securely fastened, so it could withstand any amount of flood. Those boys had a reason to be frightened, much more so than the disciples who Jesus had to upbraid for their lack of faith.
The storms of life will often threaten to overwhelm us. We feel the trembling of things that we usually rely on, and wonder if we will survive. Illness and death, financial insecurity, accidents of all kinds, and the treachery of those we thought were friends can make us fearful, but Jesus calls on us to exercise our faith. Could the disciples perish in that boat with Jesus in it. Of course not! Can we lose that which God has given us and which He has promised us? Well, maybe we are not so sure about that.
Jesus questioned the lads about their fear. With the great calm now enveloping them, they must have felt ashamed of themselves. The next time a great storm came along, as long as Jesus was with them, they would not act so fearfully. When we encounter storms and act in fear and lack of faith, we emerge from the peril intact and ashamed of our failure to trust the Lord. But those times are valuable, if we will learn from them. When the Lord has proven His goodness and preservation once, we can take courage and confidence the next time a peril comes along. At least, we should. If we know the Lord Jesus is with us, we have no reason to fear.
Keeping our eye on the Lord Jesus, and not on the storm, and knowing that He is ever with us, why should we fear? Why should our faith be small? -Jim MacIntosh