The list of things that stimulate fear is long. Do a google search of phobias and you will find lists of dozens and even into the hundreds of fears (I found one list with 536 phobias) — including such things as aulophobia (fear of flutes), linonophobia (fear of strings), sinistrophobia (fear of things on the left), and trichophobia (fear of hair).
Among the more commonly held fears are the fears of failure, change, loss, the future, success, rejection, commitment, and death.
It was this last fear that gripped the disciples in Mark 4 that stimulated them to ask of Christ, “do you not care that we are perishing?”
Now think about that question — does Jesus not care? Not only were they concerned about what appeared to be imminent death, but Jesus plainly states that they were afraid of death. In the presence of God Himself, and they were afraid.
Now don’t misunderstand: to be in the presence of God — as a believer — does not mean that one won’t die (perhaps the thief on the cross is the best example of this). But it does mean that one is safe. If he lives, he is made safe by Christ, and if he dies, he is brought safely into his eternal home.
That reality is what drove Paul to say,
“The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (2 Tim. 4:18)
The only way for Paul to get to the heavenly kingdom of God was by death, and the manner of death (as Paul rightly anticipated) was execution from the Romans. So in one sense, Paul was not rescued from every evil deed — he was killed by the Romans. Yet in an ultimate sense, his execution by the Romans was the means by which God rescued him from those very Romans and took him into the eternal presence of God. So for Paul, even in death, He was safe in the hands of the Lord.
This truth is further expounded in Psalm 18, which we also read this morning. Notice all the statements about the ability of the Lord to protect and keep David:
- The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer (v. 2)
- My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge (v. 2)
- He heard my voice out of His temple… (v. 6)
- He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters (v. 16)
- He delivered me from my strong enemy… (v. 17)
- The Lord was my stay (v. 18)
- You (God) save an afflicted people (v. 27)
- He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? (vv. 31-32)
The disciples, who had likely sung that Psalm many times, forgot the truth of it in a moment of distress and were overcome by fear. And their fear incited them to make a most preposterous statement about Christ. Doesn’t He care about their death? Of course He does — He came for the very purpose of liberating them from death.
And nothing has changed. He still cares today. We have no reason to fear, not because we will not face trouble, but because He is there, sovereignly and graciously accomplishing His best purposes for us.
Calvin well-summarized what our perspective toward fear should be: “One thing, indeed, ought to be quite enough for us: that the Lord declares himself to be our protector.” [Institutes, 1.14.11.]
Words of Grace 