Moment With Betty

 There are two most powerful forces in the world and they play a vital role in every aspect of our lives. During crises, these two forces play a powerful role that can either make or mar us.  Both forces work in almost every aspect of our lives be it spiritual or temporal.  One of these forces is negative, which is associated with fear while the other one is positive, which is associated with faith, and it is up to us to choose the one we want.

Some may be wondering what a storm is. So, for the benefit of all, a storm is a weather condition that disturbs the atmosphere. It is a disturbance that is marked by wind and usually accompanied by rain, snow, flood, snowflakes, thunder and lightning.

Relating this to human life, a storm can be those catastrophic conditions that disturb our peaceful state of life.  They can come in the form of sickness, loss of job opportunities, family problems and different difficult challenges.

In the Gospel of Mark, 4: 35 – 41, “Jesus Calms a Storm” On the evening of that same day Jesus said to His disciples, ‘’Let us go across the other side of the lake”. So they left the crowd.’ The disciples got into the boat in which Jesus was already sitting and they took him with them. Suddenly a strong wind blew up and the waves began to spill over into the boat so that it was about to be filled with water. Jesus was in the back of the boat sleeping with his head on a pillow. The disciples woke Him up and said’ Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to die?” We are told that Jesus stood up and commanded the wind to be quiet and he said to the waves, ‘‘Be still”. The wind died down and there was a great calm. Then Jesus said to his disciples” Why are you frightened? Have you still no Faith”.

As we can see in the preceding paragraph, these two great powerful forces played a great role amid the storm. The apostles chose the negative while Jesus chose the positive.  Just like the apostles encountered the storm so do we also encounter storms daily and whichever force that we choose, (either fear or faith) has a powerful influence and implication in our lives. The truth is, if we stay in faith whenever problems come our way, we will remain strong and be victorious but if we stay in fear and worry, fear will block our sense of reasoning and prevent us from acting positively. We have also read in the bible, in Samuel 17, how the Israelites and their great king, King Saul were limited and held in a dungeon by fear until David came to the scene. The Israelites chose fear while David chose faith. So when next you face any challenge, choose wisely, choose faith.

Storms are part of our lives and no one is immune from the troubles of life just as no one has a perfect answer to them. Nonetheless, despite all these troubles, God always blesses us with the wisdom to confront these challenges of life and leads us to victory. Therefore, we cannot run away from challenges. Just as the disciples encountered a storm while moving to a particular destination, we may also encounter storms as we move on in life. Let us be careful not to choose the negative force (fear) when we encounter storms in life. Fear is so powerful that it may impede us from making progress in life. Many of us are unable to achieve much in life not because we are not intelligent or capable but because of the fear of the unknown. Most times, we are not strong enough to take chances in life.  We allow the fear of the worries of life and the fear of failure to tie us down.  Unfortunately, fear is the first force that grips us and it takes the better part of our heart and if we are not strong or well-grounded in faith, it subdues us. This was what happened to the disciples when they encountered the storm. They forgot that Jesus was with them in the boat. They did not trust the strength of their faith so, they started complaining. This is exactly what happens when we allow ourselves to be swallowed by fear. We forget that Jesus is still with us as He promised to be with us till the end of time. We begin to accuse and blame God for all our problems and some of us even go into depression.

 We need Faith, choose faith no matter the circumstances. God expects us to walk in faith during the storm of life and not fear. This is why when Jesus calmed the storm, he scolded the disciples for allowing themselves to be swallowed in fear. Jesus said to them “. Why are you so frightened, how is it that you have no faith”. Jesus expected them to have faith and not express fear having been with Him for a while.  So amid problems and challenges, we should exhibit strong faith and not fear. Know that tests and trials will come but we have to show God how truly we trust Him. We need faith to walk through the valley of shadow and darkness and not fear.  We need faith in the time of storms as a sign of our fidelity to God. May God give us the grace to stay in faith when a problem comes our way. Amen.