Can Jesus Calm My Fears?

Tom Barnard

 

“When he woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the water, ‘Quiet down!’ Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. And he asked them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still not have faith in me?’” (Mark 4:39-40 NLT)

 

Whenever I am troubled and lost in deep despair

I bundle all my troubles up and go to God in prayer…

I tell Him I am heartsick and lost and lonely, too,

That my mind is deeply burdened and I don’t know what to do…

But I know He stilled the tempest and calmed the angry sea

And I humbly ask if in His love He’ll do the same for me…

And then I just keep QUIET and think only thoughts of PEACE

And if I abide in STILLNESS my “restless murmurings” cease.

 

—Helen Steiner Rice

 

Can Jesus calm my fears? Well, he did a number on a perfect storm that surprised the disciples on Galilee. I suppose that if the wind and the waves obey him, my fears should not be too hard for him. The Apostle Paul said that God did not give us the spirit of fear, “but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV)  If God is not the author of fear, we can be sure that he is against it. And if God is against it, so am I. So I will “just keep quiet” and have faith in Jesus to calm the storm that’s pounding on my frail craft.

 

Lord, I believe you want me to be a person of “power, love, and a sound mind,” and I claim that promise for me today. My tendency is to think my fears are too big for you to handle. Sometimes I forget that you are the “master of the wind and the maker of the rain.” Thank you for reminding me that you “can calm a storm and make the sun shine again.” Amen.