Why Are You Afraid?

Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he (Jesus) got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm. Matthew 8:26

I grew up in a family with three rambunctious boys of which I'm the oldest.We competed and fought all the time. In order to get the upper hand I have to shamefully admit I exploited my brothers' fears. Now don't let them know I said this but one was afraid of the mop. To get him in check you just had to grab the mop and the scraggly strands would scare him straight. My other brother (who can probably break me in two with his bare hands now) had an even more irrational fear. He was afraid of cotton. All I needed to do to get him in line was to threaten to bring cotton to him. He would be shaking.

My parents would sometimes intercept and ask them "Why are you afraid?" It's the same question Jesus asks the disciples in Matthew 8:26 when they frantically awoke Him during the storm. And I believe it's the same thing He asks us when we get all scared during the stress of life.

I'm sure the disciples thought they were justified in being afraid. And we usually come up with good reasons for our fear. But if we're honest we let fear paralyze us and take it to an irrational point.

Don't let fear stop you for moving forward, stepping up, serving, doing something great, pursuing your dreams, making a change in life. Instead have faith in God and His ability to calm not just the storms outside us but the storms inside us like fear, anxiety and despair.

Why are you afraid? And what can you be doing if you exchanged your fear for faith?