Use Your Faith to Cure Your Fear

Saturday 28th January 2023. Read Hebrews 11:1-2,8-19, Mark 4:35-41

“Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:40)

Are you scared? Can you take a piece of paper to write down your fears? Now consider what you have written and ask yourself why you are having these fears? What if I tell you that your fears are your greatest treasures. Are you wondering how?

Life is a classroom, and your fears are the examination scripts. Naturally, we humans love the place of comfort, we would rather skip the exam and remain where we are but the truth is that if we truly desire to move to the next level, we have to write our exams; that is, we have to face our fears; we must attempt to see what becomes of us when that which we fear happens.

Abraham had every reason to fear when he was told to sacrifice Isaac but he went ahead to tie the boy up on the altar. He wanted to see what lies on the other side of his fear. Do you realize that everything you seek is on the other side of your fears? If you really want to achieve something great in life, you have to face your fears squarely like David who ran towards Goliath.

Of course, David
was fully afraid when he faced Goliath. It is normal to be scared when you face one who appears to be stronger than you but like David, the key to success is to hang on to faith. David was scared but he kept reminding himself of what God did for him in the past. David kept telling himself that God who saved him from the mouth of the lion will save him again.

David continued this self-talk even while he picked up stones and ran towards Goliath and when Goliath threatened David, David uttered a statement of faith: “come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” (1 Samuel 17:45) A child of God must never stop declaring faith in the power of God even when he or she is afraid.

In today’s Gospel passage, the disciples of Jesus had every reason to be afraid because they faced a great storm but instead of declaring faith in God, they expected the worst to happen. They were so frightened that they almost forgot God was physically present with them in the boat. The moment they remembered Jesus, He woke up and rebuked the sea. Never forget that God is with you.

No matter what you face, call on God first and keep reminding yourself of what God has done in the past. You may not delete fear from your mind completely but you have to allow your faith to overpower that negative voice within you. Use your faith to cure your fear.

We remember St. Thomas Aquinas today. He was a man gifted with intelligence and wisdom, a scholar to the core, a philosopher to philosophers, and a theologian of great magnitude. Thomas Aquinas is to the Church what the seminary is to a priest. He was not just an intellectual, he was also a deeply spiritual person – qualities you hardly find combined in a single person.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, may my faith be like that of Abraham. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest, Doctor, Bible Study: Hebrews 11:1-2,8-19, Mark 4:35-41).

@Rev. Fr. Evaristus Abu