3 Displays of God’s Power in Your Storm

– Paul Chappell

Devotional: 3 Displays of God’s Power in Your Storm

Sovereign Over the Storm

When the disciples were amazed that Jesus calmed the storm (Mark 4:39), they became more fearful, as Mark wrote, “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?” (Mark 4:41). Now read Psalm 107:28-29 because it may be a Messianic psalm about Christ when He calmed the sea: “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.  He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.” The main thing is that the One Who is the Creator of the storms is also the sovereign One over the storms, even the ones in your life.

Sovereign in the Storm

Back to the story of the disciples in the storm… With Jesus there with them in the boat, we read in Mark 4:35 that Jesus Himself sent them off into the sea, knowing that a storm would hit them, but He sent them anyway. Then “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'” (Mark 4:37-38). Two things to note here are that Jesus was with them in the storm, as He will be with us in ours, and that He may allow us to enter storms, but He wants us to know that He will go through the storms with us. Also, He might even calm the storms (Mark 4:39), but He is still sovereign over the storms and sovereign in our lives while we’re in the storms. He doesn’t always take us around the storms or over the storms but will be with us in the storms and take us through the storms.

Sovereign Above the Storm

God is the only stronghold we have “in the day of trouble [and] he knows those who take refuge in him” (Nah 1:7), and of His own children He says, “When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him” (Psalm 91:15). As He reminded Joshua, He reminds us when in the storms or with the threat of storms, “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you” (Deut. 31:6) because when you are in need, He “will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). You can say what Paul said, that you “can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).

Conclusion

It is God’s desire to show His power through your storm. So the only question is will you trust He Who is sovereign over the storm, sovereign in the storm, and sovereign above the storm? He is more trustworthy than anything you see with your eyes, even if you’re in the eye of a hurricane.