Dear Pastor, Preacher, or Bible Teacher –

Here’s a thought for your Monday morning, after a weekend of serving God, His people, and a needy world. It’s a thought from Matthew 8:26:

But 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.

It’s a great passage, isn’t it? Perhaps you have preached many times on this scene of Jesus rebuking wind and waves, and how He can calm our stormy seas.

Allow me to take this passage and apply it to us as pastors, preachers, and Bible teachers. Focus on the question Jesus asked: Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? Jesus rebuked their fear and unbelief – not for waking Him up or for asking for help. We shouldn’t think that Jesus was in a bad mood from being awakened. He was troubled at their fear, because fear and unbelief go together.

In fact, Jesus dealt with His disciples before He dealt with the storm! Relatively speaking, the storm was easy to deal with. Attention needed to be given to the disciples first.

I think Jesus rebuked their fear because they actually had many reasons to have faith, even reasons for great faith.

– They had just seen Jesus do significant miracles, showing great power and authority.
– They had seen an example of great faith with the centurion who trusted Jesus to heal his servant.
– They had Jesus with them in the boat and they saw Jesus sleeping; His peace should have given them peace.

Friend, maybe you have some genuine reasons to be afraid. For the disciples, the storm and the threat from it were real.

Here’s the truth: whatever your reasons for fear, God has given you even greater reasons for faith. If you can’t think of any of those reasons, ask God to show you. Call a friend and tell them you are looking for more reasons and greater reasons to believe. The reasons are there – our part is to perceive them.

Go out and keep serving God, His people, and a needy world, knowing that you have great reasons to believe – no matter what the reasons for fear may be!

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

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