Faith is the Opposite of Fear

Coming Storms

Matthew 8:23-27

And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.

And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.

And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.

And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.

But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

Darkness cannot exist in the presence of light.  Add light and darkness ceases to be.  The more light, the more darkness is removed.  The opposite of darkness is light.

In the same way the opposite of fear is faith.  Add faith and fear leaves. The more faith, the more fear leaves and the more peace you can feel.  The two cannot exist together, just like light and darkness.

I love in the story of the storm on the sea of Galilee that fact that Jesus was sleeping. Seems like a small fact, but it was added for us to learn something from.  He had perfect faith. Fear does not dwell with him so he was able to sleep while others feared.  Jesus asked them “why are you fearful, oh ye of little faith?”  Gain faith, and dispel fear.

I also love that Jesus showed his disciples love by calming the seas for them.  He will be there for us as well when our faith falters, but we must do as the disciples did in that boat. We must turn to Him. If we feel our faith falling, turn to the Lord and he will calm the seas so we can rebuild our faith and therefore conquer our fears.

I think of the father who was pleading with Jesus to save his child who was now grown and had been afflicted most his life. You'll find this in Mark 9. The Lord tells him that "if thou canst believe, all things are possible . . ." The father in his fear says these beautiful words, "I believe; help thou mine unbelief." The Lord will help us overcome fear by helping our faith. He will add to what we have and give us comfort.