Did you believe your fears?

I read the story above with Evan this morning during his quiet time. We talked about it for a while and it was a very sweet discussion. It's the story of when Jesus fell asleep in the boat, a huge storm came, and the disciples started to panic. When they woke Jesus up He simply said, "Hush." The wind and the waves stopped immediately. Everything was calm again and Jesus asked, "Why were you scared? Did you forget who I am? Did you believe your fears, instead of me?"  

Sometimes its easy to look at the disciples with disgust and think, "DUH!" It seems like they should have known Who Jesus was. It also seems as though they should have know that He could and would take care of them. I mean, they got to walk and talk with Jesus. They could touch him and hear his voice. It just seems silly that they were still fearful with Him right there in the boat, doesn't it? Who does that remind you of? (insert cricket sounds...)We have something the disciples didn't have. We have God's Word...in it's entirety. We have God's promises written in books that lay in our homes, that are on our phones and computers, and fill the backs of the pews in our churches. Many of us read the Bible daily, yet we still live in fear. The Bible says "Do Not Fear" 365 times...maybe that's because God knew we would need to be told everyday, not to be afraid! Just like the disciples, we believe our fears instead of Jesus.

Today I am thankful for the reminder that Jesus is right here with me. Even in the  storms of my life, He is here. He can simply say "Hush," and the wind and waves of my life can disappear. My favorite sentence in the story above says, "The friends had been so afraid, they had only seen the big waves. They had forgotten that if Jesus was with them, they had nothing to be afraid of." This is so true for me and you. Whatever the circumstance, we often fix our eyes upon IT instead of on Jesus. I am grateful that no matter what comes, we can be sure that as long as Jesus is with us, we have nothing to fear. 

I have several friends and family who are dealing with really tough, hard, ugly stuff right now. My prayer for each of you is that you will keep your eyes on Jesus. If He so desires, He can just whisper to your storm and make it vanish. And if He doesn't do that, it's because He can see all the good that this storm is going to bring. It isn't easy to focus on Jesus when an enormous wave is about to crash upon you but I wonder, is fear a choice? Are we choosing to believe our fears? The choice won't be easy but, I'm sure that God will give us the ability to focus on Jesus during our storms, if we just ask Him! 

I think I'll go do that now! (and tomorrow, and the next day!)