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20th March 2026
FridayReflection
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'Britt Mooney'
is passionate about teaching ministries and
nonprofits the power of storytelling to inspire
and spread truth.
"Why did Jesus ask,
Why are you so frightened?"
.... Matthew 8 v 26
Faith sees our temporary trouble in the light of a much bigger, more powerful, and eternal God.
It doesn't make our problems less serious or painful, only now can we endure without fear because of an eternal perspective.
Hard times inevitably come.
When they arrive, we tend to react to the temporary situations around us.
This is human nature and completely understandable.
No one likes to go through a tragedy or crisis.
We don't enjoy the inevitable pain or grief we all experience living in this world.
Our reaction is such that we easily forget these are temporary circumstances.
We treat the middle of the story like the end of the story.
I used to teach this lesson while watching a movie with my kids.
The formula in a good story is that about two-thirds or three-fourths of the way through the movie, there is a dark night of the soul moment for the main character.
In the plot of the movie, the situation gets so bad all seems lost.
Redemption seems impossible.
I would stop the movie at the "all seems lost" moment and say, "Well, that stinks. I guess the movie is over."
My kids would scream and yell in protest. "Dad, the movie isn't over! There's still time left!"
As followers of Jesus, we've been given the gift of faith.
Faith gives us hope beyond the current circumstance.
This isn't always easy to learn, especially since it requires difficult circumstances to learn the lesson.
Jesus' disciples had to be placed in such a position to see the need for great faith.
In Matthew chapter 8, Jesus and his disciples embarked on a journey in a boat across the Sea of Galilee.
Previous stories in the chapter are miraculous
Jesus heals a centurion's servant. The Roman wasn't Jewish and a symbol of the empire's oppression of the Jews.
However, when he asks Jesus to heal his servant, Jesus agrees, but the centurion doesn't want Jesus to come to his house, arguing how unworthy the centurion was for such a visit.
The Roman officer did say that a man of authority like himself need only give an order, and it's carried out, and Jesus was a man of authority that could heal with only a word.
Jesus remarks in wonder at the man's faith.
Peter's mother-in-law is healed of a fever in the following story.
Later that evening, he healed all who came to him who were sick.
Seeing the multitude around him, Jesus begins to teach on the cost of discipleship after a scribe commits to follow Jesus anywhere he goes.
The Son of God responds that he has no home in this world, implying he's committing to a hard life.
This is the context for what happens on the Sea of Galilee.
After several clear demonstrations of Jesus' supernatural power and teaching that his followers had no home in this world and must leave behind the cares of this life, even to a radical degree, the disciples are placed in a situation that tests what they've been taught.
A storm rose that threatened their lives. Several of the disciples were experienced fishermen, so they would have understood it as deadly.
While fighting for their lives, they look to Jesus.
He was asleep in the back of the boat.
They decide to wake him up and beg for his help. "Save us Lord! We are perishing!".
""Why are you so frightened?" Jesus answered. "What little faith you have!"
Matthew 8:26
Then he gets up and rebukes the storm. The wind and waves are calm. And the disciples are amazed.
God often places us in situations to practice what he has been teaching us.
We don't often put these ideas together, but it's important that we do or else we get discouraged and tempted to fall away.
We get spiritual highs when we see miracles done, people get saved, the Spirit moves in a worship service, or God blows our minds with some new revelation.
It's easy to have faith and praise God in those situations.
><(((°>
This is an edited version.
The full article is avaiable on request
Britt Mooney
As an author of fiction and non-fiction,
he is passionate about teaching ministries and nonprofits the power of storytelling to inspire and spread truth.
Mooney has a podcast called Kingdom Over Coffee and is a published author of
We Were Reborn for This: The Jesus Model for Living Heaven on Earth as well as Say Yes: How God-Sized Dreams Take Flight.
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