Fear vs Faith

Crisis of disaster

37A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

39He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

I think I'm facing a crisis of disaster right at this moment. Just like the disciples, I'm running and shaking Jesus and asking Him, "Don't You care if I drown?"

Yet, verse 40 brings comforts: "Why are you so Afraid? Do you still have NO FAITH?"

Crisis of delay

22Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." 24So Jesus went with him.

A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"

31"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "

32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

35While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?"

36Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe."

I've been through the crisis of delay; and now, I think I'm going through the crisis of disaster.

I've been confronted with the word FAITH for the past few days. I'm taking it as God teaching me about Faith and Fear. I admit, I'm fearful, especially financially. There are days when I wake and believe that things will be fine; and there are days when I wake and feel so fearful that I just want to curl up in bed and cry.

Rev. Stuart Mulligan said that Jesus was in the boat with the disciples; and He will see to it that they arrive at the other side. Jesus did not come to the earth to drown in the middle of the lake, He came to die on the cross.
It was a huge comfort to be reminded that God holds true to His promises. He will take us through whatever we're going through -- we will not drown in the middle of calamities.
Furthermore, there are times when things do not happen right away, it doesn't mean God does not care. He knows the right time, just like the following excerpt states beautifully:

Neither Mary nor Martha got want they expected from Jesus. Instead, they received much more. For God never withholds good except when He has something better to give. […] you can be sure Jesus knows what He’s doing when He says no to our earthly requests in order to say yes to His heavenly plans.