“And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?””Mark 4:41 ESV
Reflection: what do you fear the most?
If you were to guess what the population fear the most, what would it be? Most people have fears, or anxieties, of something, even if they don’t admit it. As a child, it might be what hides under the bed, in the dark. But as we grow up, we form fears based on our experiences. As you might have guessed, the most common fears are around health and money. But, you might be surprised to learn that the top fear among Americans these days is actually “corruption in government”. Nearly 70% of the population fear corruption in government. Amazing. How is that possible? Well, think about it, we have been bombarded with information about government corruption, about misuse of power and resources for years, to a point where people’s trust in government has eroded. But, is that “by design”? Meaning, if the people could be “scared” sufficiently, you could get them to do all sorts of things, right? By the way, fear for the purpose of manipulation was exactly the tool that was used during the “pandemic”.
Fear is a very powerful emotion. And can therefore become a powerful tool, even a weapon.
We have been created with this amazing ability to sense danger, for our own survival. But what is fascinating with fear is that it is “relative”, meaning a perceived bigger issue supersedes a smaller one. If one has a fear of spiders, but your house catches on fire, suddenly the spiders are not your main concern. It is all based on a relative perceived danger and threat. We deal with the biggest one first. The population thinks right now the bigger threat is corruption, bigger than their health concerns. Only a few years ago, the number one threat was a virus; bigger than anything.
The disciples had taken Jesus away from the huge and pressing crowds, into a fishing boat in order to cross to the other side of Galilee. Being exhausted, Jesus lays down and falls asleep in the bottom, while the disciples steer the boat. I am sure you know the story, as it has been told billions of times. The storm is suddenly on them, and they fear for their lives. I mean, keep in mind that several of these men were tough fishermen, well familiar with weather, the sea, and the boat. So when it says here that they feared for their lives, it must have been a pretty serious storm. Still, Jesus is sleeping through it all – talk about being exhausted! But notice carefully what happens when they wake Jesus, he calms the wind and the waves, their fear shifts. It transfers from fear for their lives, to something else.
“And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?””Mark 4:41 ESV
They are confronted with even a much bigger “fear”; they see first hand that Jesus is above even the mighty nature that they have just experienced. Can you image how impressive, how mighty this moment must have been for them? To go from fearing to die in a violent storm, to fearing God? Jesus tells them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”Mark 4:40b ESV. There is a key word there, not to be missed, the word STILL. He didn’t say “Have you no faith?”. No, he said “Have you STILL no faith?”, meaning after all they had experienced with Jesus. And we can so easily associate with the disciples here, because we so easily forget. We only look at the next big, scary thing right in front of us. And, we cry out to God, “save us”, even if we have seen Him do much bigger things in the past.
Jesus spoke quite a bit about being anxious, or fearful. ““Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” Matthew 6:25-32 ESV.
He reminds us that God is so much bigger than any of the worries of this world. Even the most violent storm of life, He is the creator of all, of life itself. Which is why all through the Bible we read about the properly directed “fear” to be “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!” Psalm 111:10 ESV, which is why Jesus summarized “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:33-34 ESV
