Lenten Reader | Day 30

April 9th, 2025

Afraid

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Mark 4:35-41

This world has order and consequences, and we naturally orient ourselves to the rules of the universe. We generate fears based on our experiences, and we develop usually very rational and logical concerns. Weather and its patterns are things that are widely studied because of our concern over bad weather. It would be quite natural to have a reaction like the disciples did about the weather being out of control. Remember these guys were fisherman and had seen plenty of storms. Yet they still seemed concerned over this one. I can understand their fear.

I am getting ready to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in just a few short days, and I have been quite nervous about the weather. The weather can change very quickly on Mt. Kilimanjaro, and the higher you climb the harsher the weather can get. Did I get enough gear? Do I have the right coats and layers? What if it all gets wet? Will I be able to handle the weather? I sympathize with the disciples and wonder how I could have handled him rebuking the wind and waves. I am sure that my reaction would be similar.

In life we can develop so many rational concerns and fears. When it makes sense that we should be terrified in this life and when we have our own storms, we should have faith that God will pull us out. Right?! Isn’t that the message of this story? I think so. I believe that God is trying to tell us that no matter the cause of the storm in your life, He is still in control, and he wants us to have faith that He will pull us out. God is for us; not against us. He wants us to prosper and not harm us. Let us have the faith that God will take care of us and speak to the storms in our lives.

He seems upset yelling at the disciples, “why are you still so afraid, do you still have no faith?” Fear is the opposite of faith. Let us have faith today.

Austin & Darcy Bonds