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Why Are You Afraid? — 8/18/2026 10:00 AM
Today's Fall Bible Conference speaker is Dr. Trevin Wax, Vice President of Resources and Marketing at the North American Mission Board. Dr. Wax encourages us from Mark 4:35-41 to trust in God when we are filled with fear, anxiety and doubt.
Notes
Chapel Recap: Why Are You Afraid?
In today’s chapel, Dr. Trevin Wax from the North American Mission Board continues a series on the questions Jesus asks us throughout the Gospels. He preaches from Mark 4:35-41, in which Jesus calms the storm and asks His disciples “Why are you afraid?”
The Power of the Storm
Dr. Wax begins by addressing what we are afraid of, which is the storm around us and its power. Often, we confuse being in a storm for not living in the Lord’s will for us. The disciples, however, were doing what Jesus asked of them when the storm surrounds them in Mark 4:37. God does not promise a life without storms, and Dr. Wax points out that issues such as job loss, church drama, health diagnoses, and even death will be a part of every believer’s life.
The Persistence of Doubt
Dr. Wax asks us to think about what the root of our fear is. He asks “What drives your fear? That God can’t intervene, or that He won’t?” All is not lost, however. The disciples, even when doubting, brought their concerns to Jesus repeatedly. Sometimes our persistence through doubt is what allows the storm to lift our faith.
The Presence of Faith-filled Fear
Dr. Wax finally addresses how the world wants us to address fear and storms, and how the Scriptural approach differs. The world tells us we need to become bigger than the storm we fear. The Bible, however, tells us that while we are smaller than our storms, our God is the storm stiller. Like the disciples in Mark 4:41, we should fear the power of the Lord, not the power of the storm. When our view of God is large, our fear of the storms around us is smaller. Only by realizing the power of the Lord can we trust Him fully, and not fear the circumstances we face, but the power of the God who guides us.