Why Are You Afraid? Do You Still Have No Faith?

Why are you afraid?
Do you still have no faith?

Issue 3, 3 December, 2009, Ps Andrew Peters

Jesus said to His disciples, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?" (Mark 4:40 ). Although this was to become a common question Jesus asked His disciples, it seems unusual in the context of the story about the calming of the raging storm. It sounds like the disciples had been learning about faith from Jesus for some time. However, they had only been recently chosen by Jesus to be His disciples and trained to be apostles in the new fledgling church that was to grow out of the events of His death, resurrection and ascension. Wasn't it a bit soon to expect them to be experts in faith? Secondly, the circumstances that confronted them were extreme, for so strong was the storm that raged about them that the waves were filling the boat. Now many of these disciples were seasoned fishermen. They would not be easily frightened by adverse weather conditions. That they were frightened meant the situation was quite dangerous and the boat itself, as well as themselves, was about to be lost, destroyed by the storm.

While this was going on, Jesus was asleep. They woke Him and begged Him to help. He responded by rebuking the storm and telling the sea to be calm. This terrified them even more and made them wonder just what type of person Jesus was. So certainly by this time they did not have faith.

There are many times when we cry out to God to do something about the storm that rages around us through the various crises we encounter.

How often do we hear Jesus, as He moves to calm those storms, question us about our level of faith? Do we still not have faith? It is a question that faces all of us no matter how long we have walked with the Lord and served His purposes. For growth in faith is an ongoing experience we have in the everyday activity of our lives. Yet some people are so conditioned by the materialistic interpretation of life our culture has imposed on us that they do not hear His question about faith at all.

While others do not see that it is in the very everyday activity of life that God teaches us about Himself and His ways. They separate their spiritual lives from their physical lives and deal with the everyday stuff separate from the religious commitments and activities. Yet it is in the physical activities that the greatest spiritual lessons can be learnt - that is the lessons that help us grow in faith. According to the letter to the Hebrews "faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him" (Hebrews 11:1-2, 6).

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