23Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. 24And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. 25Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!"
26But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"
I was surprised at Jesus' question of why they are fearful -- they are in the middle of a dangerous storm, one which chances of survival are slim. Does Jesus rebuke those who fear dangerous situations? Why does He say they are of little faith? Isn't it an act of faith to turn to Jesus to save us? It seems to me that they are showing their faith in Jesus, that they expect He can save them.
But Jesus knows their hearts by more than what is written here. He knew their lack of faith which they later demonstrated. Yes, they seemed to have faith that Jesus could save them, but when Jesus did save them, they questioned who Jesus could be that the winds and sea would obey Him. They really didn't have faith in Jesus! Their fear of the storm was replaced by an awe and maybe a little fear of who Jesus really is.
Fear and faith: two sides of the same coin. My dictionary defines fear as a feeling of alarm or disquiet cause by awareness or expectation of danger. Faith is defined as confident belief, trust. If you have faith, fear goes away. Sure you may end up facing many different kinds of storms in your life: physical dangers, failing health conditions, or fear for someone you love. But if you have confident trust in God that He knows what is best for you and will take care of you, your fear will be replaced by a calmness. Does that mean the storm around you will be taken away? Not necessarily, but you may be given an idea of how to get yourself to safety, or God might send someone to rescue you, or you may simply be given the strength to ride out the storm, or you might even meet your death with God taking you up in His hands. Trusting that God will take care of you means you need not fear. Jesus wasn't rebuking their fear, but their lack of faith.
Up until now, Jesus had healed many who were sick and cast out many demons. But Jesus has power over more than just that. He can also command anything of the earth and sky. There is nothing too big for Jesus to take care of. There is nothing in our lives that He can't take care of. Hand your problems to Jesus with faith, no matter their size.
The lessons in this chapter have a continued theme of what Jesus has power over. But it is interesting that this one delves into the subject of faith too. Yes, Jesus has power over the winds and the sea, but He doesn't have power over our fear or faith. Again, as in the last lesson, we have been given freedom of choice. We must provide our faith ourselves in order to overcome our fears.