Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Paul Chappell
He Sends Us Into the Storm
At one point in Jesus’ ministry, “he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd” (Mark 6:45). They encountered a stormy sea, and, worse, it was at night. On another occasion, a great storm arose. The disciples all thought they were going to go down with the boat; but there was Jesus, “asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’” (Mark 4:38). So He rebuked the storm, and it was instantly calm. Jesus knew the storm was coming when he and the disciples went across the sea. Sometimes Jesus will send us through storms to make us rely on Him more.
He Takes Us Through the Storm
Jesus was sleeping in the stern of the boat while a great storm threatened to sink the boat. The disciples cried out to Jesus and woke Him up (Mark 4:38). Think about it: Was the boat really going to sink and everyone die while Jesus was on it? Jesus was so calm about the storm that He was able to sleep through it. Of course, that could be due to His grueling missionary work where He labored for the Father day and night and Him being so exhausted that He could sleep through anything. He wants us to have that same peace in the midst of our storms, for He’s right there with us (Hebrews 13:5).
He Is With Us in the Storm
Like Jesus was in the boat with the disciples during the storm, He will be with us in our storms. He may not take us over or around the storm, but He will go with us through the storm. Don’t you want Jesus at your side as you go through the storms of life? He’s never caught by surprise by any storm. They’re nothing to Him because He can speak them out of existences instantly.
He Is Sovereign Over the Storm
In Mark 6 we see the God of the storm, for He is Creator of the storm. The storm must necessarily obey His command. When the disciples somehow thought the boat was going to sink and they were going to die, Jesus “awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39). When the disciples saw this great miracle, “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). Did you know the winds of our storms cannot blow even 1 mile per hour over what God has sovereignly determined them to do. Even the storm cannot do anything that the Maker of heaven and earth doesn’t allow, Who also happens to be sovereign over the storms in our lives.
Conclusion
God doesn’t want us to worry about storms. They are a part of life. We can trust that God reigns and rules over the storms in our lives and that He may send us into a storm, but He will always take us through the storms because He is always with us and can rebuke any storm at any moment He wishes.
