The Storms of Life
Mark 4:35-41
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown? 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
God never promised that we’d live a storm-proof life. He just promises not only to be with us in the midst of the storm, but that we’ll make it through every storm as well. Even though Jesus was in the boat, with the disciples, the storm still struck. And so it is with Jesus is in your life, you will still encounter storms. There are physical storms, financial storms, emotional storms, and relational storms which can strike you suddenly with no warning. But just because you find yourself in a storm it doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love you or is punishing you.
Jesus led the disciples into this storm to teach them to trust Him, so don’t be surprised when you face storms. See The storms of life are not a detour. They are not a mistake. They are not a trick or a trap.
They are not sent to cause to destroy you. Your storms are sent by God to cause you to reach the end of yourself so that you will cry out to the Lord in utter desperation, “Don’t you care that I am perishing?” And in that moment not before it, but in it, when the water seems about to engulf you and all that is dear to you is lost—in that moment, the Lord rises and says, “Peace, be still!” Who told them to get in the boat in the first place? The answer is Jesus. It was his idea all along. Did he know about the storm in advance? Of course he did. And he told them to get in the boat anyway. Did he warn them in advance? No, because that would have ruined the lesson they needed to learn.
All of us have moments most of us have many of them when we feel utterly alone and forgotten by God. When life tumbles in around us, even after we have tried to serve God to the best of our ability, there are moments when we feel that God has left us completely. There is no avoiding those moments of utter despair. Sometimes we bring them on ourselves by the choices we make.Sometimes they come because we have done what the Lord told us to do. Sometimes the storms of life seem to come out of nowhere. It is in those moments we have a choice to make. Either we choose to believe that the Lord sent the storm to us for his own purposes or we choose to believe that the Lord has abandoned us and left us to our own devices. We can’t manipulate God into avoiding the storms or somehow making them suddenly disappear.
If anything, this story is meant to teach us exactly the opposite. Sometimes our path takes us into the storm. Sometimes we see the clouds gathering and know it is coming. More often the winds suddenly rise up and our life, which had been so well-planned, suddenly turns upside down and we begin to sink beneath the waves. Jesus is the Lord of the wind and the waves. When He calls us, we get into the boat. When he sleeps, we toil on. When the storm comes, we cry out to him. When he awakes, he calms the storm. When the storm is over, our faith is stronger. Are you in a storm at this very moment? You are not there by accident but by your Father’s design. He does not intend to hurt you even though you feel like screaming because your pain is so great. You are not alone though it feels that way now. Though you cannot see Him or sense His presence He is still with you. Fear not. Keep believing. The Master of the sea is by your side. When the time has come, He will say, “Peace, be still,” and the storm will run out of breath and the sea will become like glass. Eventually the day will break and the sun will shine again. And when you look back, you will see that you faith has grown stronger by the storm you passed through. What a Christ we serve! Even the winds and waves obey. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be in a storm with Jesus than outside the storm without Him. The lesson of the storm is simple yet profound. Jesus never promises us a smooth ride, but He guarantees us a definite destination. Amen?
Pastor Donald Garcia