Fearless

Once, Jesus got into a boat with some of His followers. As they crossed a lake, they were caught in a sudden and ferocious storm. The Greek words Matthew used to describe the storm are megas seismos. Even without a history of Greek, I can follow the terminology. Megas is big. Very big. Seismic activity describes earthquakes. From what I could find, seismos is used thirteen other times in the New Testament and always translated earthquake. This was massive storm, big enough to unnerve seasoned fishermen.

Terrified, the disciples woke Jesus, most likely shouted to be heard above the noise of the waves and wind, and said, "Master, we are going to die!"

Jesus replied, "Why are you afraid?" 

Indeed. In the middle of a megas seismos storm, in a little boat, with water sweeping over the sides, with the crashing of the waves and the howling of the wind, with their very lives threatened. The Master was there and that made all the difference. 

Today, amid a tsunami of misinformation, scary statistics, canceled events, quarantines, and a worldwide crisis, Jesus asks, "Why are you afraid?"

Indeed. The Master is still with us and able to calm the storm. It isn't the storm we need to be afraid of. "This isn't eternal," my friend Sheryl Zeiset said. "God help us to fear the things that lethargize the soul more than that which can kill the body." 

Lift your eyes above the waves today, zero in on Jesus, and be fearless.

Picture sourced from Pixabay