Session 38

How to combat fear with faith

From Mark: A 6-Week Devotional

It’s easy to believe Jesus is Lord when things are going great. But what about when everything is falling apart?

In Mark 4, the disciples found themselves in the middle of a storm while Jesus was asleep on a cushion. Their reaction teaches us three things about fear:

1. Fear can make us believe Jesus doesn’t care about us.

2. Fear is a lack of faith in Him.

3. Fear is a lack of knowledge of His power.

When the disciples woke Jesus up they asked, “Don’t you care if we drown?” Jesus called their fear a lack of faith. This lack of faith stemmed from not recognizing just how powerful Jesus is. After Jesus calmed the storm, they stood in awe, saying “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!” (Mark 4:41).

Jesus is not only the Lord of our day-to-day lives, but the Lord of all creation. When we lose sight of how powerful Jesus is, we’ll lack the faith to believe He is in control, and we’ll respond to life’s circumstances based on fear instead of fact.

We combat fear by choosing to believe that Jesus is who He is and He has conquered the world. When the person with authority over the wind and the waves is on our side, we have nothing to fear.

Reflect:

• What are you afraid of? How has that fear affected the way you live your life?
• What’s one area of your life where you’re saying, “Jesus is Lord,” but you’re actions aren’t showing it?
• Are you in a storm? What would it look like to let God guide you through this season?