26 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. Matthew 8
Why are you fearful? What a great
question! Most Christians will admit to being fearful about something, but why
are we fearful?
Matthew 8 contains a well-known
story. Jesus and His disciples got on a boat to sail across the sea. Jesus took
a nap and a great storm arose. The disciples panicked and woke Jesus.
Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith. He rebuked the
tempest and then there was a great calm.
Why were the disciples fearful? The
answer may seem obvious to us; they were in a small boat and a big storm arose.
The prospect of capsizing in a tumultuous sea didn’t appeal to them.
Drowning seemed likely. To Jesus, though, their fear was the result
of a lack of faith. Who was in control, God or the wind and waves?
In His Word, God promises to care
for us and our wellbeing. Do you fear for your life? God’s Word states that nothing
dies apart from His will -- not even a sparrow. God cares more about you
than a bird. The days of your life aren’t left to chance, but are
protected by the sovereign will of your loving Father (see Matthew 10:29-31).
Are you fearful about not
having enough money to pay the bills, or that you may miss out
on some blessing in life? Romans 8 says “32 He who did not
spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him
also freely give us all things?” If it’s good and you need it, God says you
will have it. God loves you so much He gave His Son to the cross for you. If He went to
that great length for you why would He hold any good thing back from you? Whether
food, shelter, a spouse, children, wisdom, etc., why would God send His
Son to die for you but ignore your needs? God is good and you can trust Him.
The next time you look at the
tempest around you and begin to fear, have faith. Have faith that God has
your very life in His hands and nothing can happen to you apart from the will
of God. Have faith God cares about you so much that He gave His only Son to the
cross for you, and won’t hold back any good thing from you. When your
faith is in God, even in the midst of the tempest a “great calm” will
come over your life.