Storms of Fear

<p>In a TV commercial I saw recently, a woman casually asks someone in a group watching TV, &ldquo;What are you searching for, Mark?&rdquo; &ldquo;A version of myself that doesn&rsquo;t make decisions based on fear,&rdquo; he responds soberly&mdash;not realizing that she was just asking what he liked to watch on TV!&nbsp;</p> <p>Whoa, I thought. I wasn&rsquo;t expecting a TV commercial to hit me so profoundly! But I related to poor Mark: sometimes I too feel embarrassed by the way fear sometimes seems to direct my life.&nbsp;</p> <p>Jesus&rsquo; disciples also experienced the profound power of fear. Once, as they headed across the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35), &ldquo;a furious squall came up&rdquo; (v. 37). Terror gripped them, and they suggested that Jesus (who&rsquo;d been sleeping!) might not care about them: &ldquo;Teacher, don&rsquo;t you care if we drown?&rdquo; (v. 38).&nbsp;</p> <p>Fear <em>distorted</em> the disciples&rsquo; vision, blinding them to Jesus&rsquo; good intentions for them. After Jesus rebuked the wind and waves (v. 39), He confronted the disciples with two penetrating questions: &ldquo;Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?&rdquo; (v. 40).</p> <p>Storms rage in our lives as well, don&rsquo;t they? But Jesus&rsquo; questions can help us put our fears in perspective. His first question invites us to <em>name</em> our fears. The second invites us to <em>entrust</em> those distorted feelings to Him&mdash;asking Him for eyes to see how He guides us even through life&rsquo;s most raging storms.</p>