By Oluwaseyi Ige
One of the songs that does it for me every time is In My Boat by Folabi Nuel.
He touches something quietly real. Fear and faith’s response.
There’s a line that always lands:
“Even when I’m surrounded by the storm, I will not be moved… ’cause You are with me… every storm will cease, I got You in my boat.”
It sounds simple, but it carries weight. He draws from that powerful Gospel scene where Jesus is in the boat with His disciples, and everything still goes wild around them.
It is the kind of story we like. Good over evil. Calm after chaos.
But look closely.
The storm still came.
The waves still rose.
The fear was still real.
All of that happened despite who was in the boat.
And if we are honest, we feel that way sometimes, when life’s many cares becomes overwhelming.
David had such difficult moments. He put down his thoughts.
Psalm 23 verse 4 says:
“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…”
Notice what it does not promise.
It does not promise the absence of valleys.
It does not remove the shadows.
It does not cancel the danger.
It acknowledges the reality of it.
But it introduces something stronger.
Presence.
“For You are with me.”
I remember a flight back to Lagos some years ago. It was a dark and rainy night along the coast of West Africa. Just after takeoff, the pilot came on and calmly announced that the weather ahead would be rough. No panic in his voice. Just information.
But inside the cabin, it was a different story.
Every small shake of the aircraft felt exaggerated. Every drop made my heart race faster. You could almost feel the tension in the silence. I was scared. Not slightly uncomfortable. Properly afraid. I thought over my life to that point many times.
What made the difference in that moment was not what I felt, but what the pilot knew.
While passengers panicked, the pilot remained steady. Not because the turbulence was not real, but because he understood something we did not. The aircraft was designed for that kind of weather. It was built to withstand pressure. He had flown through worse and knew the plane would not fall apart mid-air.
Same storm. Different response.
Not because one group was in a safer place, but because one had deeper understanding.
That is exactly what plays out in Mark 4.
Jesus is in a boat with His disciples. Some of them are experienced fishermen. They know water. They understand storms.
Then a storm rises.
Not a mild one. A violent one. Waves begin to fill the boat. The situation becomes serious enough that survival is no longer guaranteed.
And in the middle of all that, Jesus is asleep.
The disciples panic.
“Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
It’s honest. Emotional. Real.
Jesus wakes up, speaks to the storm, and everything becomes calm.
Then He turns to them and asks:
“Why are you afraid?”
The storm was real.
Just like the turbulence on that flight was real. Just like many situations and scenarios we pass through daily.
But the issue was not the storm.
It was perspective.
Just as I was panicking on that flight, the disciples saw a situation that could end them.
Jesus saw a situation already under His authority.
This is not the only time Scripture shows this pattern.
In Exodus 14, the Israelites stand before the Red Sea with the Egyptians behind them. No escape. No strategy. Just fear.
Moses tells them, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance of the Lord.”
When the scriptures say, “Fear not”, be sure that something scary is either happening or will happen.
I’m exodus 14, the sea did not disappear.
But God made a way through it.
Jonathan David Helser and Melissa Helser sang “You split the sea so I could walk right through it…”
That is not just a lyric. It is history.
In Daniel 3, three Hebrew men stand before a burning furnace. The fire is real. The threat is real. But their response is different.
“Our God is able to deliver us… but even if He does not, we will not bow.”
That is faith.
Not the absence of danger, but confidence in God despite it.
The disciples allowed the storm to define their reality.
Jesus responded from a deeper awareness.
He knew something they had not yet grasped.
He was in the boat.
That is what Psalm 23 is anchoring.
“I will fear no evil, for You are with me.”
Not because the valley disappears.
But because God is present in it.
Faith is often misunderstood.
Faith is not the absence of fear.
Faith is the decision to trust God in the presence of fear.
It is choosing to move when everything in you wants to retreat.
It is choosing to believe what God has said over what you currently see.
Isaiah 43:2 says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you… when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned.”
Not if.
When. That means it will eventually happen. What’s then important is how you handle the situation.
Would you allow fear, or you’ll be conscious of who is with you?
So Jesus’ question still stands.
“Why are you afraid?”
Not to dismiss your feelings.
But to redirect your focus.
What are you afraid of right now?
The uncertainty?
The outcome?
The risk?
Your health?
The future?
Now ask yourself.
Is the fear coming from the situation alone?
Or from forgetting what God has already proven?
Because just like that pilot understood the aircraft, God understands the path you are on.
He knows what you are built to withstand.
He knows where this journey leads.
He knows you will land.
Borrow a line from the song, No Longer Slaves
“I’m no longer a slave to fear…”
That is not a denial of reality.
It is a declaration of identity.
You are a child of God.
And that changes how you respond.
Walk through the valley.
Face the storm.
Move forward anyway.
Because His presence does not remove the storm.
But it gives you the confidence to go through it.
And that confidence is faith.
And that’s all you need.
Oluwaseyi Ige is a media consultant, communication strategist, and the Chief Operating Officer of
Jabbok Media Services.
An associate pastor at TBC Kubwa and a youth missionary, he previously served as the Media and Communications Coordinator
for Youth for Christ (YFC) Nigeria. He is the founder of Quantum of Grace, an outreach ministry, and the author of
Still Becoming and
Digital Loneliness.
His latest work, Becoming You, is a personal guide helping the next generation navigate the identity fight
and build a life of impact.
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