“…Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” – Mark 4:38 (ESV)
The disciples had just obeyed Jesus. He had said, “Let us go across to the other side” (Mark 4:35, ESV), and the storm hit in the middle of that obedience. Some of them were professional fishermen who knew the lake, yet the boat was filling with water. But fear has a habit of showing up where our competence ends.
Then comes the detail I can’t forget: Jesus is asleep on a “cushion.” The disciple’s question isn’t “Will we die?” but “Do you not care?” That is the deepest fear beneath all our fears. It isn’t that the storm is big. It’s that Heaven seems quiet.
Recently, Russia hit Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in waves, cutting power to large areas ahead of peace talks. Another round of talks to end the war in Iran closed in Doha without a deal, and British households are facing the highest energy price cap in three years this winter. Many people are asking the disciples’ question. I have asked it too. In Barbados in 1995, the school fees I was promised never arrived. I woke early, walked, and cried out to God. He never scolded me for the honest question. He answered it, in His time and in His way.
When Jesus rose from His rest, He silenced the storm. Then He asked, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Verse 40). But their faith was still growing. What about yours? Do you know that once you are with Him, there’s no need to fear? Afterward, the disciples were “filled with great fear” (Verse 41), but now it was in awe of the One who commands the storm.
Faith doesn’t remove fear, my friends. It relocates it, from what we can’t control to the One who can.
Today, be reminded of what Jesus has actually promised: His presence. Trust in Him. He’s always vigilant.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, sometimes You feel silent, and the water feels high. I bring to You my honest question. Calm what I can’t calm. Grow my faith where it is “not yet,” and move my fear from the storm to You. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Read: Psalm 46:1-2; Matthew 28:20
Bible Reading Guide: Psalm 125; Hebrews 12:1-13; Ezekiel 26; Ezekiel 27