“Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”
Mark 4: 40b (Jesus to his Disciples after he calms the storm on the sea)
I can think of no time in my experience of The United Methodist Church where we have faced such uncertainty and fear. Living in a post-religious society, there are fears of decline and dying, change and loss, and division and dissent. These are all human fears, and Jesus would respond to us the same way that he did to his original Disciples:
Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?
Faith is the ultimate counter to fear, and if we really believe that God is the Lord of all that is, we need fear nothing. Have we no faith? If we can find our faith, think of all we can do!
PRAYER: O God, Giver of all life: Amidst all the earthly fears that we face, give us enough faith to not let fear paralyze us, but enable us to carry on our mission no matter what fears we may face. Amen.
DAILY PRACTICE: During the coming week, notice when anxiety, uncertainty, or fear arises in you, and in those moments, imagine Jesus with you saying, “Why are you afraid?
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Devotional written by Bishop Grant J. Hagiya. Hagiya has served the Seattle Area, which includes the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference and the Alaska Missionary Conference, as a United Methodist bishop since his election to that role in 2008.
Image Credit: Tan Yee-Ming (1)
I love this. Such a good reminder to me in so many circumstances in life.
Thank you for this opportunity to not only prepare our hearts and minds for Annual Conference, but for the reminder of being aware of our feelings and responses as we lead congregations in the midst of an ever-changing world. God is present, of what shall we be afraid?