The Blob

 

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” (Matthew 8:23-27 ESV).

 

Today we return to a passage that speaks to our fears and anxieties that we have recently explored. Look at the first question Jesus asks of the disciples: Why are you afraid, O you of little faith? That is a question that often defies logic. In 1958 (I know… a long time ago) Steve McQueen starred in a thriller. Being a nine-year boy, that movie held a certain mystique that required me to view. The storyline centered around a mysterious creature from another planet, resembling a giant blob of jelly. It lands on earth and begins to swallow people alive. The people of a nearby small-town refuse to listen to some teenagers who have witnessed the blob's destructive power. In the meantime, the blob just keeps on getting bigger and more dangerous. After watching that film I refused to sleep near the edge of my twin bed for fear that the blob would somehow creep up my bed and get me like it did in the movie. Yes, irrational… I know. However, I still think about that scene six decades ago.

 

Before we are too hard on the disciples, they had every right to be afraid of the storm that came upon their boat. The waves were sweeping right in! It is hard to fault them for fearing for their lives. But when they woke up Jesus, he asked why they didn’t have any faith. It’s easy for us to read this and think, “Of course their boat wasn’t going to sink; Jesus was on it!” But when you are in the middle of a frightening situation, rational thinking is one of the first things to go—not to mention faith.

 

A lack of faith and the onset of fear are often paired in the Bible. It may seem unfair at times to blame our fear on a lack of faith. But when it comes down to it, our faith in God and his promises are enough to overcome all fears. God doesn’t promise that we won’t ever be in frightening situations. But he does ask us to trust him all the time. Even if the situation we are in goes terribly wrong, we are still children of God. Our destiny is assured; and, we are in his hands. Believe it!