Spider!

It is a lovely day for a picnic. Let’s spread this cloth out on the lawn. The shade feels good on this warm day, doesn’t it? Oh, look. We have a little visitor.

Where? Oh-eek! It’s a spider! you shout, jumping up.

Are you frightened by a little spider? It won’t hurt you. See? It crawls right over my hand.

But what if it bites you? Ooh, I hate spiders, you say with a shudder. Get it away from me!

Don’t worry. I’ve scared it off. You don’t need to be afraid of grass spiders. I’m not. Trust me, they won’t hurt you any more than a lady bug.

You sit down slowly, feeling a bit foolish. I guess it just surprised me, you say. I’m not afraid now.

You know, that spider scare reminds me of a lesson Jesus taught His disciples. Do you remember the time they were in a storm on the sea? Why were the disciples afraid? (Read Mark 4:37-41)

They thought they were going to sink and drown, you say.

But was Jesus afraid? You’re shaking your head. Why wasn’t He?

Because Jesus isn’t afraid of anything. He could make the waves be still.

So why were the disciples afraid if Jesus was with them? You don’t know? It was because they weren’t trusting Him.

“Where was your faith?” Jesus asked, after He had calmed the wind and waves. The disciples had faith that the waves were stronger than them, so they panicked. But they were trusting in the wrong thing. All Jesus had to say was, “Peace, be still,”* (Mark 4:39) and everything was calm. Of course, all their fears looked pretty silly then.

There wasn’t any reason to fear with Jesus in control, was there? Just like when I scared away the spider, you saw it wasn’t dangerous. But it felt dangerous to you, didn’t it?

It’s easy to focus on the problems we see, and then we feel all panicky inside. But Jesus wants us to trust in His power and love for us. “Let not your heart be troubled,” He says, “believe… in Me.”* (John 14:1) Do you really believe that Jesus is in control and will take care of you? Then you don’t ever need to be afraid—of a tiny spider or a giant storm.