Fear corrodes our confidence in God’s goodness. It turns us into control freaks. It deadens our recall, and creates a form of spiritual amnesia… it dulls our miracle memory. It makes us forget what Jesus has done and how GOOD God is. When fear shapes our lives, safety becomes our god.
~Max Lucado, Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear
Photo courtesy of: mikebaird
Fear is a default reaction when we feel we are not in control, and it often causes us to lash out at others with false accusations. We see a perfect example of this when the disciples encountered a storm while crossing the Sea of Galilee.
The disciples did not ask about Jesus’ strength.
“Can you still the storm?”
They did not ask about His knowledge.
“Are you aware of the storm?”
Nor did they ask about His know-how.
“Do you have any experience with storms?”
But rather, they raised doubts about Jesus’ character.
“Do you not care?”
Anxiety Causes Us to Forget God’s Love and His Power
Obviously, the disciples had forgotten the point of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus spoke at length about His deep concern for human welfare. Apparently, they did not recall how His heart went out to the grieving widow when He raised her only son, who had just died. For a moment, they did not remember how Jesus had lovingly cured many who had diseases, sicknesses, blindness, and evil spirits. But recalling these things would have helped them overcome their fear. It would have taken their mind off the power of the storm and put it on the power of One who could calm the storm … and perhaps that would have helped them think to humbly ask the Lord for help, rather than insult Him with a false accusation.
This post was inspired by Max Lucado’s book, Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear
Keeping it real,
