Faith says that God is constantly working behind the scenes in every area of our lives, even when there is no tangible evidence to support that fact. On the other hand, fear, simply stated, is unbelief or weak belief. As unbelief gains the upper hand in our thoughts, fear takes hold of our emotions, and as our emotions are swayed by the fear, reason goes out of the window and our actions eventually will be inconsistent with faith. Even when we might feel there is a legitimate cause for fear, Jesus tells us that faith can be the overcoming response instead. David learned this lesson, telling us in Ps 56:3, ‘When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.’
I believe Jesus allowed the storm to come to show the disciples that their fears were greater than their faith and that He wanted them to learn that life is about reversing that ‘natural order.’ Naturally, our fears will always be greater than our faith. Fear is woven into the fabric of our sin-stained nature, but Jesus does not have that nature. He was like us in every way except for sin (Heb 4:15) and He wants us to develop a faith that conquers our fears as we dwell in Him and allow His Spirit to work His nature deep into ours. He asks the questions not to humiliate us, not to make us creep away in shame, not to cower away waiting for punishment. He asks the questions to bring us up short, to make us look deep into our hearts and to recognise that our faith needs to grow. That’s true for all of us. None of us has reached the place where we trust fully, but God wants us to become more confident in Him than we are in our fear. He wants us to grow in faith and in love, for (as John tells us) love has the power to drive out fear, since fear is to do with punishment. (1 John 4:18)
In order to replace fear with faith, we must hear, read and meditate on the word of God (Rom 10:17), so that we can experience a strong, confident faith that actively rejects worry and fear. We have to do this actively; it doesn’t happen by accident. Ultimately, we must choose to trust God rather than to live in fear. We must go forward in faith, leaving fear behind, and this only happens as we learn to trust through trials and adversity (see Rom 5:1-5). As we dwell on God’s word, we will find promises that set us free from every fear:
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When we face financial trouble, Philippians 4:19 tells us, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
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When we are anxious about a future decision, Psalm 32:8 reminds us that God will “instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”
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In sickness we can remember that Romans 5:3–5 says, “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
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When someone turns against us, we can be comforted by the words in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us who can be against us!”
Throughout life we will continue to face various trials that would cause us fear, but God assures us that we can know a calm peace through every situation: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). It’s time for us to allow faith to flourish and to refuse to live in fear.
