One of the most prominent emotions in our nation over the last several months has been fear. Fear has led to panic, stress, anxiety, and even depression for many. Fear is an emotion that has existed long before COVID-19, and will even be here after COVID-19 is no longer a front page headline. Panic, stress, anxiety, depression, and other things will also be around. They are the result of the fall of man. However, they don’t have to rule and ruin your life.
Matthew 8:26 says, “But He said to them, ‘Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?’ Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” Jesus is continuing a long day of ministry. While the disciples are rowing the boat across the sea, Jesus decides to get a little nap in. While they were crossing the sea, a sudden storm came up. This is nothing new for that region as it is typical for cold air to rush down the one side of the mountains, clash with the warm air at the surface, and create powerful storms in a hurry. This storm terrified the disciples. I’m not going to give the disciples a hard time about being scared of a storm. Especially since on Sunday night this past week, a thunderstorm woke me up out of a deep sleep and kept me up for the next hour with constant loud thunder and severe lightning. But remember, several of the disciples were experienced fisherman. They would have been use to these sudden storms. However, in their panic they go to Jesus who is still sleeping through all of this, and they ask Him a question. “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Jesus, don’t you care that we are all about to die? Have you ever felt that way? Maybe not that you were about to die, but have you ever felt like where is Jesus in this storm in my life? Why isn’t He doing something about it? When we find ourselves in the middle of a storm, we often have these thoughts. The good news is, there are some lessons that we can learn about the storms of life and the God of those storms.
- No one is exempt from storms. Unfortunately, there is a dangerous and destructive false teaching that is going around in American Christianity. It is the belief that if you become a Christian, life is going to somehow be easier for you, that you won’t have to worry about all the stresses and struggles of life, like those who don’t know Jesus. I’m going to put this as delicately as I can, what a lie from the pit of hell! I can biblically make the argument that being a child of God will expose you to more storms than those who are still unsaved. What you need to know is this, storms are a part of this fallen, sinful world. Not only are they the result of the sin of this world, but they are also part of God’s plan.
- Storms reveal who our faith is in. Jesus is asleep in the boat. Does He know that there is a ferocious storm howling all around Him and His disciples? Does He know that the boat is taking on water? Absolutely He does to both of those questions. Were they all in some sort of danger? Probably. So, why not do something sooner or keep the storm from happening in the first place? Because, the disciples needed to see the truth about where their faith was. They had seen Jesus healing people, and casting out demons all-day. There was no question about could Jesus have done something about it. The question was, did the disciples trust Jesus in the middle of the storm? The same is true for you and I. The Bible says that God causes the “rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” What separates the child of God from the unsaved is how we respond when the storms are howling and the flood waters are rising. If you are saved, God will allow storms in our life to reveal who are faith is in. The disciples still had an immature, incomplete faith. However, their faith grew that day because of that storm. If you look at the next verse, the disciples are amazed because after Jesus got up and rebuked the storm and it grew quiet, they asked the question, who is this man that even the wind and sea obey Him? Storms reveal weaknesses in our faith, but they also present opportunities for God to grow our faith in Him.
- Storms are meant to turn us to Jesus. The disciples know that if something doesn’t change they are in trouble. Even in their immature, incomplete faith, they have the presence of mind to go to Jesus. They may not have known what Jesus was going to do, but they trusted that He could do something. Do we have that same faith and confidence? Storms are meant to show us our own frailty and inability to control life. But they are also meant to point us and drive us to the One who is all-powerful and sovereign.
- Storms don’t last forever. In the middle of a storm, it seems like it will never end. However, they always end at some point. The hurt, the pain are real, but so is God’s presence and His power in the middle of the storms. Maybe you feel like you just can’t go on, that you can’t take one more step in the middle of your current crisis. Just keep crying out to God for help and for His presence. As He reminded Paul in 2 Corinthians 12, “My grace is sufficient. For in your weakness, my strength is revealed.” The point of the storm isn’t that you can just try harder and get through it. The point of the storm is to break your self-reliance and self-dependency and replace it with a steadfast faith in God.
- Storms can be used by God to reach others. One of the biggest things that I have learned is that God often uses what I go through as a means to reach other people with the Gospel. There is no doubt, that the storms of life are meant for you. However, they are not only meant for you. When we are faithful to God, reliant on God, and worship God through a storm of life, God can use us to point others to Him. Being faithful to God through a storm opens up opportunities for you and I to give glory to God by telling others of His steadfast love, power, and presence in helping us get through the storm. Storms serve a bigger purpose than just being about us. Therefore, let’s not pray that God would stop the storms. Instead, let’s pray that God gives us the grace to get through the storm, reminds us of His presence in the storm, and uses us for His glory to reach others after the storm.
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin