Why Are You Afraid?

Mark 4:35-41

June 25, 2006

Great weather, eh?  Did you experience the thunder storms yesterday afternoon?  Great lightning!  And yesterday morning was so beautiful.  Storms come and go so quickly.

It seems that that’s the way it is in New Jersey in the summer—if you don’t like the weather, give it five minutes and it will change!

Storms came in the life of Jesus as well. He and the disciples found themselves in the middle of a ferocious squall out on the lake. This was nothing unusual on the Sea of Galilee ; it is in a basin surrounded by mountains and notorious for furious storms. Jesus and his friends were in the middle of the lake when the squall hit. It was terrifying and it looked as though they would not survive the storm.

Sometimes our life seems like that—we are in the middle of a storm and it looks like tomorrow will never come.  But this passage from Mark gives us true perspective in the face of storms, and more importantly, it gives us hope.

The perspective is this: Storms will come. The apostle Peter reminds us: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12 ). There are many who do not seem to understand this. The disciples seemed to be shocked that they were in this position. After all, wasn’t Jesus with them? Wouldn’t God protect his Messiah, and therefore protect his followers? How then could this happen? I sometimes meet people who have the same feeling of shock when some storm comes into their lives. Didn’t I do all the right things? Isn’t God supposed to watch out for his own? Doesn’t he protect those he loves? How can this be happening to me?

In fact, I am sure that there are some people here today in whose life a storm is raging. For some of you it may be financial. For others it might be a health issue. Perhaps you have tried to be a good person and do the right thing, and yet you feel like you are sinking, and you want to know the same thing the disciples wanted to know: “Jesus, don’t you care if I drown? Are you aware of what I am going through?”

I’m sure that these words, and many others, were said by the disciples as they shouted in fear for their lives. They were frightened, and they could not understand how or why this was happening.

Now, before we go further, here is what a storm in your life does not mean. It does not mean that God does not love you. It does not mean that God is angry with you, or that he is paying you back for something. Sometimes the storms that happen in our lives are self-made. But many times it is just that, as the saying goes, “storm happens,” and trying to analyze what happened or assign blame is a fruitless activity. We live in a fallen world. As Jesus said, “[God] causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45 ). In other words, good and bad happen to all. The important thing is whether or not we are prepared for them.

A few years ago, a TV news camera crew was on assignment in southern Florida filming the widespread destruction of Hurricane Andrew. The camera panned the area where, amid the devastation and debris, one lone house was still standing on its foundation. The owner was cleaning up the yard when a reporter approached him and said, “Sir, why is your house the only one still standing? How did you manage to escape the severe damage of the hurricane?” “I built this house myself,” the man replied. “I also built it according to the Florida state building code. When the code called for 2x6 roof trusses, I used 2x6 roof trusses. I was told that a house built according to code could withstand a hurricane. I did, and it did. It could be that no one else around here followed the code.”

This man understood that storms were coming. It had nothing to do with him, it was about the area in which he lived and the nature of storms. His job was to be prepared. The important thing is not trying to understand all the various reasons why storms come, but to be prepared for them before they do.

So storms come, whether we want them or not, and whether we’re ready or not.  But here’s the good news: Jesus is with us in the storm. Listen, if you are going to be in a storm, the one person you want in your boat is Jesus. You know, Jesus could have stayed on the shore and let the disciples take all the chances by themselves, but he did not do that. Jesus was out there in the storm with them.

The problem for the disciples, however, was that although he was with them, he was asleep. This was a very severe storm! Keep in mind who was in the boat…experienced fishermen who had been through all kinds of storms at the sea.  The disciples wondered how he could sleep through the storm, and how he could sleep when they were in danger. They expected him to be attentive to their needs even in his sleep.

We have all been there, haven’t we? You are in the middle of a crisis and it seems like God is off somewhere taking a nap. You can almost hear him snoring. He doesn’t seem very responsive to your need. Well, at least we know that we are in the same boat as the disciples.

But what is Jesus’ response when he is awakened? After he rebukes the storm, he rebukes his disciples. He asks them two questions: “Why are you so afraid?”, and “Do you still have no faith?” Friends, Jesus asks us the same questions today. Put yourself in the disciples’ shoes—wouldn’t you reply as they might have? 

“Why are we so afraid?” the disciples might say. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe it was the raging storm around us, the violent pitching of the boat, the water swamping the boat so that it was starting to sink. Maybe it was that we thought we were about to drown. Just stuff like that. Don’t you think we had a right to be anxious?”

Jesus was hoping that what they had seen him do in the past would provide a stronger faith in the future, but that was not the case. So first Jesus had to calm the storm, and then he had to calm his disciples.

Think about it: Has God ever done anything for you in the past? Has he solved any problems or answered any prayers? He is hoping that his faithfulness in the past will cause you to trust him in the future.

But sometimes it is only in the storm that we truly understand who Jesus is. I think the most amazing part of the story is the disciple’s reaction to Jesus. When Jesus calms the storm, the Bible says, “They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’” (Mark 4:41 ).

The Greek literally says “they feared with great fear.” They thought that they afraid of the storm. But their fear of the storm was nothing compared with the fear they had when they realized who it really was who was with them in the boat. It is one thing to be in the boat with someone you believe was sent from God to be a great teacher and spiritual leader. It is quite another thing to be confined in a small space with One whom you suddenly realize is the Lord of the universe. Your knees give way and you begin to tremble. You find it difficult to breathe. Your insides are shaking and you cannot stop.

This is true for us as well. We keep meeting Jesus in new ways as we meet him in new crises. We don’t really understand who he is or the power he has until we see him in action.
It was terrible to be blind, but the blind man could not see who Jesus was until he was healed. The deaf man could not hear Jesus until his ears were opened. The affliction of the lame man brought Jesus to his side and he was able to leap and dance so that he loved the Master and wanted to follow him. Doubting Thomas was devastated by the events that led to the death of Jesus. But Thomas experienced Jesus in a whole new way when he saw him after the resurrection and placed his finger in Jesus’ hands and side.

It is in those crisis moments that we really understand who Jesus is. If you place your complete faith and trust in Jesus, you will have a greater understanding of him, a deeper relationship with him, and a new love for him when the storm is over. You will see his power over darkness and the depth of his love for you. Jesus is telling us to live by faith, not by fear.

We know this by experience, but sometimes we just don’t believe it because we are afraid. 

Nine-year-old Danny came bursting out of Sunday school like a wild stallion. His eyes were darting in every direction as he tried to locate either mom or dad. Finally, after a quick search, he grabbed his Daddy by the leg and yelled, "Man, that story of Moses and all those people crossing the Red Sea was great!" His father looked down, smiled, and asked the boy to tell him about it.

"Well, the Israelites got out of Egypt , but Pharaoh and his army chased after them. So the Jews ran as fast as they could until they got to the Red Sea . The Egyptian Army was gettin’ closer and closer. So Moses got on his walkie-talkie and told the Israeli Air Force to bomb the Egyptians. While that was happening, the Israeli Navy built a pontoon bridge so the people could cross over. They made it!

By now old dad was shocked. "Is THAT the way they taught you the story?" Well, no, not exactly," Danny admitted, "but if I told you the way they told it to us, you’d never believe it, Dad."

When the storms of life rage in your life, do you believe that Jesus will see you through?  If so, then why are you afraid?  Have you still no faith?

In the midst of the storm, take refuge in the One who can still the waters and find peace in his everlasting arms.