You Can Be Fearless! Sample

FOLLOW JESUS’ EXAMPLE

There’s a story about fear in Mark 4:35-41 in which Jesus provides an example of being fearless. He had just finished teaching the Parable of the Sower, and afterward said to His disciples, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.” As they were crossing the lake, a ferocious storm came up, with violent winds and waves that were crashing into the boat until it was all but swamped. 

Now, I’m sure the disciples wished it had been a beautiful evening for sailing. But no, a storm came along – just like storms will always come along from time to time in our lives. We should never be surprised when a storm comes – none of us will live a storm-free life – we should just be ready! 

Well, the disciples began to panic and they looked around for Jesus to help them, but found that he was asleep! I have a theory that Jesus even knew the storm was coming. So what did He do? Did He stay awake and wring His hands? No. He was not afraid, even though a storm was upon them. Why? Because He knew God.

As the storm got worse, the disciples started to freak out. They didn’t say, “Um, Jesus, we have a problem." They were so scared they yelled at Him, “Don’t you care!?” You and I may have done this, feeling like God is sleeping through our storm. Doesn’t He care? Why doesn’t He do something? 

Fear can corrode our confidence in God. It can cause us to get mean with the people around us. Fear made the disciples forget everything Jesus had done before this. They’d seen Him heal all kinds of sickness and disease, cast out demons, etc. But they forgot, in the face of fear, all the power available to them.

Thankfully, Jesus woke up, spoke to the storm, and it stopped. He helped them anyway, even when they were faithless and fearful, just like He has helped us any number of times. But then He said to them, “Why were you afraid? Haven’t you learned to trust me yet?”

Clearly Jesus was fearless. He knew His authority and He trusted God to take care of them. We can follow His example and refuse to fear when storms come into our lives. We can rest in God, use our authority, and expect the victory!