Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves; but He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord save us! We are perishing!” But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So, the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
It happens to the best of us. There are times when we are overcome by fear and lack faith. We saw this over and over again with the Israelites in the wilderness. They had seen God part the Red Sea, rain manna down from heaven, get water from rocks and over and over again they went through times where they simply lost faith. They seemed to forget who God was and all He had done for them.
And in our Scripture passage today, these disciples have seen Jesus turn water into wine, they have seen numerous healings, they have seen Him cast out demons and yet they become fearful when they find themselves in a storm on the sea with Jesus sleeping in their boat.
I am not proud to admit it, but there are times when my fear overcomes my faith and I find myself wondering, “What am I going to do?” I will say, however, that my faith has grown to the point where I don’t stay in that mode for very long. I have learned to remind myself of all He has done for me and all He has brought me through.
In some of my darkest hours, He has been right there with me working while I waited. I have seen Him supply my needs when I didn’t know where the supply would come from. And I’ve learned that as long as I am faithful and continue to do what He has called me to do, He will be faithful to take good care of me.
There was another time when Jesus went up on the mount of transfiguration and a man brought his son to be healed and His disciples could not do it. When Jesus got back the man brought the boy back and Jesus healed the boy. He again told His disciples that they had not been able to heal the boy because they lacked faith. This is found in Matthew 17:14-21.
Hebrews 11:6 says without faith it is impossible to please God. Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.
When you find fear rising up like a roaring fire and consuming your faith, stop. Think about the hard times you have come through before. Think of what God has done for you before and how far He has brought you. And ask yourself, “Do you really believe He would carry you this far just to drop you now?” The answer is no. God’s got you. You can trust in Him as you have before. He won’t let you down. Even when it seems our prayers aren’t being answered, He is working things out for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28).
It’s easy to face a massive problem and become scared. It’s human nature. But we must fight our flesh and rely on our faith. We must walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
If you are facing hard times, surrender yourself and your troubles to Him. Turn to Him in prayer (Philippians 4:6). Trust in Him and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds through Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:7). And last but not least, focus on all the good things He has done for you. Focus on all that is simple and pure and loving that God has provided and the times He has come to your rescue (Philippians 4:8).
And remember, He didn’t carry you this far to let you fall now.
Have a great day!