When once the disciples were traveling in a boat and there arose a storm the disciples got panicky Jesus rebuked the wind and quieted the storm and asked the disciples, “Why are you afraid?”

1) In OT Isaiah 41: 10 we read ‘So do not fear, I am with you.’ I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. God asked Isaiah not be afraid for He would uphold him with His righteous right hand. Only when we maintain a life of righteousness we can claim this promise and be free from fright. To be clasped by the righteous hand of God, we need to be in that righteous state. When we are righteous, God’s voice asking us not to be afraid comes to us.

2) In Exo 14:13 Moses told the Israelites ‘Do not be afraid .Stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today’ Moses asked the Israelites to stand firm to enjoy God’s deliverance .We will not be scared if we stand firm. If we remain faithful and refuse to yield to sin God will encourage us and we don’t have to be afraid.

3) In Exo. 20:20 Moses told the people ‘Do not be afraid .God has come to test you so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning ‘.When the fear of God is in us to keep us from sinning we need not be afraid of anything. Fear of God is proactive whereas fear of circumstance is reactive which may lead to disastrous results.

4) In Daniel 10:12 we read ‘Do not be afraid Daniel. Since the first day that you set in mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before God, your words was heard. I have come in response to them. “Daniel’s answer was accompanied by the assurance that he need not be afraid. The fear that God doesn’t listen our prayers is baseless as long as we are keen to acquire understanding and humble ourselves.

Hence, humility and desire to gain understanding will procure for us God’s response. So we don’t have to be afraid.

The disciples need not have got into fright after witnessing what all Jesus did. Very often we are like the disciples and get disturbed though we have experienced God’s comfort and help all along. To us comes, the question ‘why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”.

Dr. (Mrs.) Edriana Jeyasingh