Trust

One of my favorite passages of the Bible is Mark 4:31-45

One of the things that stands out to me about this passage is how, in a lot of ways, it seems to reverse the story of Jonah...yet end with a comparable message:

Trust the Lord.

1.) Jonah, a prophet, knew what God wanted of him- Christ is the Son of God.

2.) Jonah fled God's call via a boat into stormy waters - Christ slept calmly on a boat in stormy waters.

3.) The people around Jonah were in a panic and prayed to their many "gods"-The people around Christ were in a panic and ignored the actual physical presence of God.

4.) The people around Jonah threw him overboard to appease Jonah's God - The people around Christ woke him up to chastise Him for allowing them to be in danger.

5.) The sea was made calm - The sea was made calm.

6.) Praise was given to the one true God - Praise was give to the one true God.

It would seem that Jonah could have avoided the storm had he just heeded God's call to "Arise, go to Nineveh..." or, in other words, trusted in God from the start. So could have the people around Christ.

Trust the Lord.

Just how many times do we need to hear this message before it sinks in?

I've heard it said that "Fear Not" is the most repeated command in the Bible and have been told further that "there are exactly 365 times the command is repeated in the Bible, once for each day of the year."

I have to be honest, I have a lot of reason to doubt the "365 times" claim, but the fact remains that, time and time again, we are commanded to have faith and trust in the Lord.

Is it just me or is God trying to tell us something:

Matthew 17:20
He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Matthew 21:21
And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.

Matthew 21:22
And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

Mark 11:22
And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.

Acts 27:25
So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.

Genesis 15:1
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”

Genesis 21:17
And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.


Genesis 26:24
And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake.”

Exodus 14:13
And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.

1 Chronicles 22:13
Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Fear not; do not be dismayed.

Isaiah 35:4
Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

Isaiah 40:9
Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”

Isaiah 41:10
fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:13
For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

Isaiah 41:14
Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord;
your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 43:1
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

Isaiah 43:5
Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.

Isaiah 44:2
Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you:
Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

Isaiah 44:8
Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it?
And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”

Isaiah 54:4
Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

Jeremiah 30:10
“Then fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the Lord, nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid.

Jeremiah 46:27
“But fear not, O Jacob my servant, nor be dismayed, O Israel, for behold, I will save you from far away,and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid.

Jeremiah 46:28
Fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the Lord, for I am with you. I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have driven you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure,and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”

Daniel 10:12
Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.

Joel 2:21
“Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things!

Zephaniah 3:16
On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak.

Haggai 2:5
according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.

Matthew 6:30
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Matthew 8:26
And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

Matthew 14:31
Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Matthew 16:8
But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread?

Luke 12:28
But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!


Psalm 4:5
Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord.

Psalm 31:6
I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the Lord.

Psalm 37:3
Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

Psalm 115:9
O Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield.

Psalm 115:10
O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield.

Psalm 115:11
You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield.

Psalm 125:1
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.


Isaiah 26:4
Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

Psalm 127:2
It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

Jeremiah 17:8
He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Matthew 6:25
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Matthew 6:27
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

Matthew 6:28
And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,

Matthew 6:31
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’


Matthew 6:34
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Matthew 10:19
When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.

Mark 13:11
And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

Luke 10:41
But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,

Luke 12:11
And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say,

Luke 12:22
And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.

Luke 12:25
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?


Luke 12:26
If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?

Philippians 4:6
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Mark 4:35-41
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”
And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.
And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.
But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”
And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”


Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.