Hope in the Storms

It has been said that we are at one of four points in life: Either between storms, going into a storm, being in the middle of a storm, or coming out of a storm.

In Matt 8, as well as in Mark 4 and Luke 8,  we find a story of the complete cycle.  Let’s look at Matthew 8 beginning with verse 23.

Matt. 8:23    Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. ²⁴ Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

Matt. 8:26    Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.

Matt. 8:27    The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!””(Matthew 8:23–27 NLT-SE)

Now let’s read it again in  Mark 4.  

Mark 4:35    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.

Mark 4:38    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?”

Mark 4:39    When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! 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?”

Mark 4:41    The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”

 

Did you notice the subtle differences in Mark?  Especially in the cry and attitudes of the disciples.  Keep in mind, that the book of Mark is the recorded stories of Peter as written by John Mark.  So you start to see a little bit of the personality and memories of the different disciples and what they were thinking at the time.  We’ll come back to that in moment.

To round out our picture, let’s go to Luke 8.  

Luke 8:22    One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and started out. ²³ As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger.

Luke 8:24    The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”   When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm.

²⁵ Then he asked them, “Where is your faith?”  The disciples were terrified and amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!”

So now that we have three versions of the story, let’s piece them together and see if we get a little bit more understanding on this passage, and perhaps something that can help us today.

The disciples were peacefully going across the lake.  Jesus is exhausted so He lays down in the back of the boat and goes to sleep.  Suddenly, without any real warning, the storm breaks.  And this is a storm to beat all storms.

They are struggling against the oars, they are bailing like mad and they are panicked out of their minds. Those hardy fishermen had spent their lives on the lake, and had guided their boats through many a storm; but against this storm, their strength and skill are worthless.  They are helpless in the face of this tempest and their hope began to fade as their boat began filling with water.

Absorbed in their efforts to save themselves, they had forgotten that Jesus was on board.  Sound like anyone you know?  Not until they came to the end of their strength and they could see death staring them in the face, did they remember that somewhere in the boat was the One who could help them.  They call out for Him, but they hear no answer.  Just more wind and more waves to the face.  

And now, doubt jumps on top of fear and rides deep into their souls. Had Jesus forgotten them?  Was the One who had healed diseases and opened blinded eyes not able to help His own disciples now?  Have you noticed that we often do the same?  In God’s silence, we often listen to our doubts.

The book Desire of Ages says that a flash of lightning revealed the sleeping Savior and they are incredulous.  How can He sleep through this?  So they woke Him by screaming above the tempest, as recorded in Mark 4:38 (and remember, this is Peter’s version of the story)   “Teacher, Don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”   

Now, I have put this question in the category “stupid questions asked by the disciples”.   Do you think Jesus cared if they drowned?  Of course He did.  Because these men were to be the ones that carried His message to the world.  Of course He cared, but, as we said earlier, in God’s silence, we often listen to our doubts.  

First, forgetting Jesus was in the boat, and then, secondly, not hearing anything from God, they instantly jumped to the conclusion that God didn’t care.  Some things never change do they?  Ever done that? 

So they cry out to Jesus… “Don’t YOU CARE that we’re going to drown???”  Notice…to their reality, this is a foregone conclusion.  They had fully assessed the situation and decided that it was hopeless AND that somehow God didn’t care one whit about them.

There is no indication from either Matthew, Mark or Luke’s account that they wanted Him to do anything more than start rowing or bailing—but I believe they also knew that HE was where their hope lay.  Mathew’s account says that they screamed, “Lord save us: we’re going to drown!”  And I like what the book Desire of Ages says on page 335 “Never did a soul utter that cry unheeded.”  

Let’s go back to our text in Matthew 8.  V. 25 The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!”(Matthew 8:25–27 NLT-SE)

I love this story for a lot of reasons. First, it reminds us that no matter what storm we are going through, Jesus is still in the boat with us, and He has the power to control everything. Check this out-as fearful as the disciples were in the middle of the storm, they were even more fearful and amazed that the elements that they had feared only moments before, were totally at the beck and call of this man with whom they traveled.

Second, He is a God of surprises. When the disciples shouted out 

“Lord, save us!”, I’m sure the last solution on their minds was that He would simply get up and rebuke the storm and it would cease. They were probably hoping for the supernatural, to be sure...but they were not expecting that. 

Third, Jesus left them with more questions than answers. “Who IS this Man???” We were afraid of the storm before...but THIS Man is GREATER than the storm! That storm was NO MATCH for Him. We thought we were stuck in the clenches of the power of the storm...but the storm was nothing...compared to HIM. 

But as cool as this story is, it occurred to me that this story could either increase our faith or Satan could use it to defeat our faith. What? Let me explain. 

On the one hand, we can see a God who has absolute control of the elements...yet seems to let us down when it comes to OUR current crisis at hand. I had faith...didn’t I? And we focus in on the question Jesus asked them, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” And we squint harder and repeat, “I believe, help my unbelief!!” 

We forget that it was not the disciples faith that caused Jesus to act. It was His goodness and grace, seeking to teach them that He could be trusted in the days and weeks ahead. 

We don’t stop to think that maybe there were other nights on the lake where the storms surrounded them and Jesus DIDN’T calm the storm...but allowed them to go through it. 

Their faith was not the answer to the problem. It was only the answer to the peace that was to be had as they faced the problem. Faith isn’t always about getting the outcome you want. Faith is about trusting that the outcome you receive will better prepare you for the way ahead. Faith is about trusting that one way, or the other, God will get you through the storm and you can be at peace in the middle of it because you trust that God has got you. 

Yes...Jesus CAN bring you the miracle, the healing, the whatever your prayer is...and sometimes He does. To quote singer/songwriter Scott Krippayne, “Sometimes He calms the storm, and other times he calms His child.” 

Sometimes He allows us to face the hard stuff so that we can learn that it is NOT our desired outcomes He is most concerned with, so much as our relationship and our trust in Him for the Journey ahead. 

That storm you are in...will you trust Him with it just now? He’s the God of surprises...so who knows how He will answer...but it will always be a way that can make you stronger and growing closer to Him if you let it. 

I pray peace for your daily journey.

Will You Yield? NEVER!!!!

Storms are a natural part of life.  Small storms, like frantic searches for car keys when you are due at an important appointment.  Medium storms, like not having enough money to pay rent, or someone slamming into your parked car, putting your patience to the test as you walk through mountains of insurance issues and getting your car fixed or totaled and finding a replacement.  Finding a broken pipe, or a rotted floor or some other headache that you hadn't planned on dealing with. Then there are those HUGE storms.  Storms that threaten to do us in. That phone call that lets you know a loved one has been in a bad car accident, or has passed.  That doctor's report that tells you that you have cancer or COVID or some other equally bad piece of news.   How do you hold on then?  How do you not only hold on, but how do you actually grow stronger?  I believe it is in learning to yield your circumstances to God..

But that is much easier said than done, since yielding requires giving away even the last bit of the control we have.  But yielding to your circumstances to God can actually help you grow stronger as you meet the challenges of life. 

Yielding.  It means to “give way, to acquiesce.”  A more personal definition would be: to surrender or relinquish to the physical control of another : hand over possession of : to surrender or submit (oneself) to another.  

But we don’t like to yield (except, perhaps, to our temptations!)  It is not in our nature.  Everything within us revolts at the sound of yielding.  Oh, we do it when we have to…like when we come to a busy street and there is a yield sign.  But we don’t do it readily.  As a matter of fact, if the truth were to be known, we are approaching that yield sign to see if we have enough room to squeeze out in front of that car that is coming.  If we have just enough room, we will usually gun it to pull out in front and let them step on the brakes rather than yielding.  

In fact, as I have studied human nature, we don’t even value the idea of yielding, because we think it makes us look weak.  We, like Robin Hood, when presented with the question “Will you yield?” quickly respond...at least in our hearts, "NEVER!"  We would rather fight and go into the water before we would allow someone else to get the better of us.

So when someone says you can grow stronger through yielding, it almost sounds impossible.  But it is true.  Part of growing stronger as you go through the storms of life is realizing that God can use whatever circumstances you find yourself in if you will just rest in His care and yield to His will for you.  And if you’ve learned to trust Him in the good times, it is much easier not to panic in the storm.  

I had a mentor once, an older retired minister, named Sam. He still worked part time at the church I was at for a small stipend, but he loved people and he loved God and wanted to continue to spend his time bringing the two together. Sam was married to Dorothy.  And Sam and Dorothy had weathered many storms in life.  Family problems, many deaths of those close to them, financial pressures and at times, their own health challenges.  

One day Dorothy began to experience some abdominal pain.  She chalked it up to something she ate and figured it would pass.  But instead of going away, the pain got progressively worse, so she scheduled an appointment with her doctor.

A few tests, and the diagnosis did not take long.  She was already in stage 4 of pancreatic cancer.  I watched as Sam took care of her over the next few months, spending less time at the church and more by her side.  It wasn’t long before Dorothy died, her abdomen having swollen to the size of a basketball from the cancer inside her.

I will never forget that funeral and especially the graveside service.  Sam was there, and though he shed his tears over the one he had spent so much of life with, he wasn’t angry, he wasn’t questioning God and he wasn’t particularly trying to keep a stiff upper lip to put on a good show.

I walked up as he watched them shovel the dirt onto her casket and I put my arm around his shoulder.  He looked over at me and said, “I praise the Lord that He gave me such a good woman to go through life with.  She was my sweetheart.  The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. I trust Him to do what’s best. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

That spoke volumes to me of a trust in God that can develop in a person who chooses to yield to the will of God for their life.

What about you?  Have you learned to yield your impossible circumstances to God?  Your suffering can make you bitter or better?  Closer to God or farther away.  It depends on what you choose to do.  Yield or retain control…But I think if we can learn to yield, we will find that our lives will be more in control and make more sense and we can have a peace about us that does not flee in the presence of bad circumstances.  And no matter what, we can say, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”  

The question I (and you as well) have to answer as I meet each of life’s challenges: Will  you yield this circumstance to God?

And KNOW

In my last post, Breathe, we looked at the first part of a verse in Psalm 46.  "Be Still..."  Today, I would like to finish that verse..."and know that I am God."

We come to trust things and people in our lives only after they have been shown to be reliable.  Our lawnmowers, our computers, our cars, our appliances, even the pews you are sitting on, have all shown themselves to one degree or another, to be reliable.  How does that happen? We put our trust in them and use them until they prove themselves to be unreliable.  And as soon as we find them to be unreliable, we replace them.  Our 12 year old refrigerator had to be replaced because it became unreliable.  We didn’t know from one day to the next if it would be ice cold or toasty warm when we opened the door.  Ice cold, was freezing our food and toasty warm was ruining it. Eventually, it got to where it was more on the warm side and almost never cold. Cleaning the coils, replacing the thermostat and more didn’t solve the problem, so we decided it was time for a new one.  It is keeping things reliably cold.  We trust in the new one again…and we will continue to do so until it proves itself unreliable.

So what does a refrigerator have to do with being still and knowing He is God?  Great question.  I’m glad you asked.  First, many have come to view God as unreliable.  He didn’t answer my prayer.  He didn’t heal my dad.  He isn’t feeding the hungry.  He doesn’t protect the innocent from being killed and stuffed into a suitcase.  And on and on we go attempting to show how unreliable God is.  But if we were able to sweep back a curtain in order to view the supernatural realm, I bet we would be amazed that in every instance, the devil would look up surprised to find us looking at him as he seeks to maim, kill and destroy and then would point at God, blaming Him for not stopping the carnage.  And I bet if we could look closer, we would see a God who is always working to protect, yet within the bounds of respecting human freedom of choice, which the devil never respects.  He continues to push and cajole and tempt and pressure and persuade and lead us ever farther away from God…sometimes against our own free will, using our natural inclinations  toward sin against us.  God has always been reliable, even when the devil tries to make Him look otherwise.  God is ever-present.  Ever watching.  Ever-loving.

To truly understand this command of God to be still and know that He is God, as well as understand how to weather life’s storms, we must see this passage in it’s complete context.  

Psa. 46:0   For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song.  1   God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,  3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.  5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.  6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.  7 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah 8 Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth.  9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.  10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”  11 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

 

Do  you see it?  Do you see the main reason He wants us to learn to be still?  When life is uncertain, when everything in your world is going wrong, when we come to the end of time, when we don’t know which way to turn, when things are crumbling all around us and it seems like we are totally going down, God says…don’t panic.  Don’t freak out.  Don’t go running around spewing forth a stream of hopelessness as if all is lost and freaking everyone else out.  He says: Be still, and KNOW that I…Am…GOD.  Not you.  Me.  You don’t have to control this, He says, I’ve got it.  You  be still!  You rest in me.  You don’t lose hope and grow discouraged.  Be still.  Breathe.  Pray. Inhale. Obey Exhale.  And I will bring a renewed sense of hope, courage and peace into the chaos.  Breathe.  Pray. Inhale.  Obey. Exhale.  Don’t worry about anyone else and how they are doing with me.  Worry about you.  And if I ask you to share with someone…obey.  Be still. Pray. Obey.

We may not know what will happen, but we can be at peace because we know that no matter what happens,  God is still God and has all things under His control.  Be still and know that He is God.