May 19: Drive out fear

As He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. Suddenly, a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves. But He was sleeping. So the disciples came and woke Him up, saying, “Lord, save us! Were going to die!” But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, you of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea. And there was a great calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? — even the winds and the sea obey Him!”   (Matthew 8:23-27 — Holman Christian Standard)

After the storm the disciples must have talked among themselves—“Did you see the way Jesus stopped the storm! He just spoke and the wind died down! I knew He could heal the sick and drive out demons, but I never thought He could do this! We were fools to be so afraid! We disappointed Him! He expected us to have faith even in the storm! He was sleeping right through the storm until we woke Him up!"

The Jesus we believe in, the Jesus we serve, is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. We do not fear the things other people fear, because we are disciples of Jesus. The more faith we have, the bolder we are, the less fear remains in us. We know that Jesus will deliver and save us. The storms of life will come, but they will not overcome us. We are in the boat with Jesus, so how can we sink? Drive fear out of your life with faith. Think about who Jesus is and who you are through faith in Him.

But you may say, “I want to have faith and I want to get rid of fear, but how do I do it? How can I keep from thinking the way I do?" Your mind needs to be transformed; it has to be renewed. One important part of renewing your mind is reading and thinking about scriptures like this. Write down strong scriptures, carry them with you, memorize them, tape them up where you can see them every day. Attend church more often and learn to pray boldly, and stay away from people who discourage you. You have to get rid of the poison of fear and doubt!

Why did that storm suddenly appear after Jesus and His disciples got into their boat? The Sea of Galilee is know for sudden, violent storms that come out of nowhere. The topography of the region makes for sudden storms. But I am sure that typography had nothing to do with this particular storm — it was caused by demonic forces intent on making Jesus and His disciples give up on their idea of crossing to the other side of the sea. Jesus was about to free the man possessed by a legion of demons (next few verses) and that was the last thing the devil wanted.

When a storm appears in your life, the best thing you can do is take a minute to think about why. Many times you’ll discover it’s the devil’s way of telling you to give up on a dream, or changes you want to make in your life. Don’t give in. Fight your way through that storm. Command it to be calm.