“Lord, save me.” As Peter walked on the water and saw the strong wind, he became afraid and began to sink into the water. He cried out, and the Lord reached out His hand and caught him, saying, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the rain stopped.
We, too, are sailing the ship of life, navigating rough seas and moving forward. There can be no life without wind and waves, and we cannot help but be afraid. However, the Lord comes toward us, reaches out His hand to hold us, boards the ship with us, calms the wind, and gives us the courage to start anew.
Our fundamental problem is that our faith is weak and we fall into doubt. When doubt follows doubt and consumes our thoughts and hearts, we find ourselves in a situation from which we cannot escape. What we need in such situations is to welcome the Lord who comes toward us and entrust all our worries and concerns to Him. “Cast all your anxieties on Him, for He cares for you. God always cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
We often fall into anxiety and worry by imagining too much about what is to come. However, the things we fear do not actually exist. They are merely figments of our imagination, and we are bound by the power we have created. The Lord says to entrust all our worries to Him. There is nothing we cannot handle. The Lord has already prepared the path for us and always gives us the help we need.
Another step toward overcoming fear is realizing how precious we are as beings cared for by God. “So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:31). These words express well God’s heart and plan for us. Even before we were born, we were part of the Lord's plan. In the words of St. Alphonsus, God loved us even before the world existed.
Therefore, we must not be afraid. God knows better than anyone else the anguish of our hearts in times of trial, and He gives us the courage and strength to rise again and continue to move forward with hope.
At the root of uncertainty about the future lies the suspicion that God is not there, that God has abandoned us. When we pray together with the church community and reencounter God's love in the Word and the sacraments, when we experience being entirely accepted by God, when we experience how precious and noble we are before God, our fears will disappear. When we believe that God allows us to exist and cares for us to the end, and entrust our existence and future entirely to Him, everything will be resolved.
I remember the words of advice a priest gave me during confession when I was a foreign student, quoting Galatians 2:19-20. “Father, Jesus loved you and gave his life for you. So take courage and be strong.”
Let us remember the love that has given us new life. We are beings reborn through love that conquers death. We are precious beings because we can recognize God’s mercy and love and respond to them in kind. Let us ask for “courage,” “boldness,” “patience,” and “perseverance.” Peace and joy will come.
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