“35And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 36And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. 37And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? 41And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:35-41)
One evening, as Jesus and his disciples cross the Sea of Galilee by boat, a storm strikes. Their boat is flooded and begins to sink. The Apostles wake Jesus, who is sleeping by the stern, and beg him to save them. Jesus calms the storm and condemns the Apostles’ lack of faith. They understand that their teacher and master has extraordinary abilities and can control the forces of nature. The message Jesus seeks to convey is that there is a gap between spiritual and physical thinking. The Apostles’ fear stems from the imperfect state of their faith. Jesus exhorts them to stop being afraid and overcome the impulses setting them back, as these impulses merely stem from a lack of faith. When we have the courage to go beyond our limitations, miraculous things can happen. Self-restraint and self-control are a prerequisite for personal growth. Storms and crises are divine signs intended to shake us up. Our duty is to weather the storms and overcome our fears.
Fearlessness is not needing to “find the courage”, because we already have it; certainty in the Creator’s love enables us to be fearless.
