Monday, September 12, 2011

"Why Are You So Afraid?"

I started reading the book of Matthew a few weeks ago, when I came across this quote from Jesus,
"Why are you so afraid?"
It was amazing to me because I had been dealing with fear and then there it was straight from Jesus:
"Why are you so afraid?" 
Such a simple question. Jesus asks not because He doesn't know WHY,but rather a WHAT are you so afraid of when I'M with you."

I've taken this quote from Matthew 8:26. It is the story, "Jesus Calms the Storm."  It says, "Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat."  I don't know about you, but I certainly would have been afraid.  It came all of a sudden, out of no where and the waves were sweeping over the boat. That is truly something to be afraid of.  They didn't have time to think. The tragedy was upon them and their natural instinct was to be afraid.

What was Jesus doing?
Sleeping.
Jesus was so at peace that He could sleep.  Jesus wasn't afraid. He wasn't anxious. He wasn't stressing out. He knew that God the Father was in control. He knew that the Holy Spirit was watching over them. He knew that Satan had no power over them. He knew that HE himself could handle the situation. Jesus was calm. Jesus had faith.

So, He asks his disciples, "Why are you so afraid?" In other words, don't you know you have nothing to be afraid of? Don't you know that I will protect you? Don't you know that I won't let anything happen to you? Don't you know that you are safe with me?

Then He says something that I would hate to hear, "You of little faith."  Golly, if the disciples were considered  nearly faithless when a huge storm hit and their very lives were in danger, well then, I must have close to no faith with the silly things I have feared. 

It is amazing that Jesus sees a huge storm as nothing to fear! So it could be said that there is nothing to be afraid of ever! I seriously mean nothing. Fear nothing. Don't fear dying. Don't fear something so huge that could knock you off your feet.  Jesus wants us to be completely trusting Him in all things. The "storms" of life may have happened, may still come, but we are not to be afraid. We are to have faith. We are to believe that God is completely in control. That God knows a way out. That we are not forgotten by Him. That He is aware of all we are going through and He does have a plan.

"Then  he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!" (Matthew 8:26b-27)

Since Jesus can rebuke the winds and the waves, isn't it plausible that He could save us from everything?

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