Fear or Faith?

In The Secret of Jenny’s Portrait, Jenny fears a future with Joe because of the danger of his work with the FBI. The “what-if’s” threaten to cloud her faith. In our own lives, how many times do we do the same? What if I lose my job? What if I get sick? What if something happens to my family? Do we choose fear or faith? When we allow fear and uncertainty to become our focus, we stop looking at Jesus, the all-powerful One.

Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, found himself in the same situation on the Sea of Galilee. Matthew 14:28-30 tells us Peter got out of his boat, intending to walk on water to Jesus. But somewhere between the boat and Jesus, things changed. Peter saw the wind, became afraid, and began to sink. I love the response of Jesus in the next verse. He immediately reached out and caught Peter.   

The Bible tells us there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. Jesus loves us perfectly. He loves us so much He died on the cross and rose again so that we might have life. He is trustworthy. We don’t have to anxiously look about us, wondering whether fear or faith will win out. He is our God. He cares for us, and He will be with us.

Matthew 14:32-33 tells us what happened when Peter and Jesus got back into the boat. The wind stopped, and the disciples worshipped Jesus. May our response be that of the disciples. May we, too, worship the Savior.