Something happens as we come to familiar stories. Sometimes we shut off our thinking and turn off our hearts for “we have heard it before.” But what if, instead, we engaged in a story as if we had never heard it before? What if we put ourselves into it and our lives into the scene before us.
Try this with Mark 4: 35-41. It is “the storm at sea.” Perhaps you know it well enough that you could tell most of it. But slow down. Ponder the events. Ask what it might have felt like to be the disciples obedient to Jesus caught in this life-threatening storm. And notice how this story connects to the stuff of fear you encounter in your life.
For we all have fear -- fear of what people might think of us, fear of calamity, fear of jet streams, fear of flying, fear of death, fear of bankruptcy, fear of loss of relationships or the death of a relative or friend. We all have fears.
Recently I spoke with a new acquaintance and he shared how he had gone to a retreat-- an intensive one on healing -- and there they had been impacted by looking at scripture to identify what it is within that section they needed to repent of. Time and again, the passages spoke to his heart about his own fears, and how much he needed to repent of his fears. Fear is not trust, it is, therefore, not an expression of faith, and scripture says that anything that is not of faith is sin (see Romans 14:23). So, he confessed and repented of his fears. He listed them out, repenting and receiving forgiveness. His fear of rejection, speaking up, not being heard, etc. As he did so, the Holy Spirit did this immense cleansing in his heart. He felt totally renewed.
Fears are usually unfounded. Unless we are in a plane plummeting toward the ground, we need not believe the lion’s share of fears. Indeed, fear is a liar as the song by Zack Williams reminds us.
Jesus responds to the disciples reaction to the storm, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” So, clearly, their response demonstrated to Jesus that faith was not present. Fear had trounced it.
Fears are worth facing. Are you ready to face some of your own?
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