Maybe you are going through a storm in your life. Difficult times can come upon us quickly. Personally we have been through hurricanes and great flooding as well, seeing people left destitute, broken emotionally and financially, and wondering what they were going to do. We have been there too.
How does God want us to view the storms of life we face? The followers of Jesus faced a real storm that could have killed them, but Jesus! Look what happened and what we can learn.
Mark 4:35–41 As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). 37 But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. 38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” 39 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Peace! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”
(1) Life is full of storms that come upon us suddenly.
Someone has said either you are going into a storm, in a storm, or coming out of a storm. Life is full of storms. The suddenness and ferociousness of this storm threw this professional fishing team into a tailspin. They were fearing for their lives.
“People are born for trouble as readily as sparks fly up from a fire.” Job 5:7 (NLT)
(2) God cares you are in a storm, no matter what you think!
Jesus, God in human form, had been teaching all day. Imagine a high school teacher during finals dealing with extremely emotional teens, teaching all day, and then having to have grades entered. But even more than this, Jesus had been helping people through the worst situations and helping them carry each of their emotional loads – things we are not capable of doing. Physically and emotionally, He was exhausted. So He went to sleep in the driest and most comfortable part of the boat.
v38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
Don’t you care God that this storm is killing me? Isn’t that what we say when things get so rough? I believe our problem is the same as the disciples. They said… “Teacher.” They had only known Jesus as a lecturer and as someone who was a good man, but not fully for Who He really is, God Almighty, the Lord of all Creation.
I’ve learned, storms reveal what we really believe about God. Our thoughts and words reveal our deeply held beliefs. He cares and understands, no matter what you think!
(3) Jesus will bring Peace to your storm at the right time.
v39 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Peace! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.
The disciples sought him, called him, cried out to Him! It is like us praying and crying out to Him in the middle of the night. He said to the storm, “Peace! Be Still!” Instantly the storm stopped and the sea was like a mountain lake early in the morning without a ripple, like glass. He can stop your storm in an instant too!
(4) Don’t give up in your storm! Keep seeking Christ’s intervention!
40 Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
Keep calling out to Him and seeking Him! He rewards those who seek Him! Faith moves the heart and hand of God upon your situation!
(5) Jesus wants us to know Him more deeply than that of a Teacher and a good person.
41 The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”
Who is this man? Jesus is no ordinary man, He is the God-Man. The only God-Man to ever live and ever will live. He is God who created the universe and all that is within it, who stepped out of Heaven to fix our messed up lives and reveal the amazing love of the Father toward each of us. No matter what you have done God loves you!
(6) Some storms are providential and meant for us to more deeply understand who God really is.
Mark 4:35–36 As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they took Jesus in the boat and started out
These men were followers of Jesus and had followed Him in His teaching circuit. They had followed His instruction to get into the boat and go to the other side. I’ve learned more personally about who God really in the storms I have faced than I have in any classroom. I am thankful for the classroom studies, but somethings can only be learned by experiencing them.
(7) God wants you to have peace in your storm.
We faced a hurricane that came right over our house in south Louisiana. It destroyed so much, but when the eye of the storm came over our house – it was eerily peaceful. We knew we were in a storm, but we were in the place of peace.
Jesus never let the fear of the storm fill His life, He was full of peace. He brought peace to the storm by just His words. The disciples had let the storm inside their lives and fear was controlling them. They did not have peace.
I’ve learned that God wants to give you peace in the middle of your storms! Let Him speak peace to your fearful heart today! He can bring peace to your storm but more importantly, He can give you peace in the middle of your storm.
Bill Stevens
September 9, 2018