When you are in the middle of a fierce storm feeling out of control and tossed around, you may be asking Jesus, like His disciples did in Mark 4:38, “Do you even care that we are in this storm?”
The answer is yes, He cares.
Yes, He knows.
Yes, He can handle it.
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 NIV
Jesus can handle whatever you are carrying.
Give it to Him.
“Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.” Matthew 8:24 NIV
We have all been living through a storm of uncertainty for the last year. In one way or another, Covid-19 has disrupted our lives like a storm disrupts a clear blue sky.
Since living in Southern Florida for the last few of years, I have a healthy respect for storms that come on quickly and are ferocious. Every afternoon in the summer, the fluffy white clouds that fill the blue expanse of the sky in the morning turn into dark thunderclouds by the afternoon. Some afternoon storms are gentle showers and over quickly. Some of them rip the sky open with the crack of lightning, heart-pounding thunderclaps, and vicious wind.
The verse above describes a storm on the Sea of Galilee that came on so suddenly and was so ferocious that seasoned fisherman (the disciples) feared for their lives.
And what was Jesus doing? He was sleeping. He was resting.
He didn’t get in the boat at the beginning of the voyage and quiet the winds and calm the waves before he fell asleep, Jesus rested right in the middle of it.
The storm did not disturb him.
How did Jesus rest in the midst of an unexpected storm?
Jesus knew three things:
The best thing for you to do in a storm is to trust God and rest.
Rest in God’s sovereignty: He knows the moment you will cross into eternity. This storm will not be the end of your story and God does not have half a plan.
Rest in knowing who and whose you are: a cherished child of God, redeemed by the cross of Christ to live life loved and drenched in God’s grace.
Rest in the knowledge that as long as you are here, God’s mission for you is not done yet.
I know it is stormy where you are but I want you to know that God is there with you and He will get you through whatever happens.
God will use today’s challenges to give you the skills you need for tomorrow’s assignment.
Look to Jesus to guide you through it and help you navigate all the way to the other side of it. Don’t give up halfway through. Storms do not last forever but the lessons you could learn from them will.
“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”
James 1:2-4 MSG
It doesn’t matter where it’s coming from, God will use It to get you going in the right direction.
God will use whatever opposition is coming at you as an opportunity to grow your faith and character.
Let Him.
What is God using your current challenge to develop in you?
“Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.” Matthew 8:24 NIV
Since living in Southern Florida for the past couple of years, I have grown a healthy respect of storms that come on quickly and are ferocious. Almost every morning in the summer, the fluffy white clouds that fill the blue expanse of the sky turn to churning dark thunderclouds by the afternoon. Some afternoon storms are gentle showers and over quickly. Often they rip the sky open with the crack of lightning, heart pounding thunder claps and vicious wind.
The verse above describes a storm on the Sea of Galilee that came on so suddenly and was so ferocious that the seasoned fisherman (the disciples) feared for their lives.
And what was Jesus doing? He was sleeping. He was resting.
He didn’t get in the boat at the beginning of the voyage and quiet the winds and calm the waves before he fell asleep, Jesus rested right in the middle of it.
The storm did not disturb him.
How did Jesus rest in the midst of an unexpected storm?
Jesus knew before He got into the boat:
The best thing for you to do in a storm is to trust God and rest.
Rest in God’s sovereignty. He knows the moment you will cross into eternity. This storm will not be the end of your story and God does not have half a plan.
Rest in knowing who and whose you are: a cherished child of God, redeemed by the cross of Christ to live life loved and drenched in God’s grace.
Rest in the knowledge that if you are here, God’s mission for you is not done yet.
At the beginning of this year, I felt the Lord press me to learn how to rest better. How to lean on Him more, how to trust Him to meet me more in my everyday challenges and allow His power to flow.
So instead of saying, “what do I need to work on today?”,
I replaced it with “what do I need to rest in today?”
It completely changed my perspective and set my heart to rest in His love and work from that truth.
If God has asked you to do it, He will give you what you need to get through it.
What do you need to rest in today?
“So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men (human philosophy), but in the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:5 AMP
When your faith rests in the wisdom of man, it falters because at it’s best, it is a human attempt to explain the divine.
When your faith rests in feelings, it surges and wanes like the waves of the sea.
When your faith rests on experience, it morphs into whatever you are experiencing now, good or bad.
When your faith rests on God’s power, it is the rock upon which the waves of emotion break, the wisdom that confounds the wise and the truth that gives your experience perspective.
Stop worrying about how you feel, what others say or what happened in the past.
Put your faith in God and who He is.
He is bigger than your fears, knows what to do with your worries and is working behind the scenes to bless you.
May today be filled with the promise of His presence and a new level of faith that is not tossed by emotions but anchored in God’s unchanging love.
What do you need to trust Jesus with today?
The challenge you are facing is a gift. It is an opportunity for a divine purpose.
“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”
James 1:2-4 MSG
God will use today’s challenges to give you the skills you need for tomorrow’s assignment.
Look to Jesus to guide you through it and help you navigate all the way to the other side of it. Don’t give up halfway through. Storms do not last forever but the lessons you could learn from them will.
It doesn’t matter where it’s coming from, God will use It to get you going in the right direction.
God will use whatever opposition is coming at you as an opportunity to grow your faith and character. Let Him.
What is God using your current challenge to develop in you?
The challenge you are facing is a gift. It is an opportunity with a divine purpose.
“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”
James 1:2-4 MSG
God will use today’s challenges to give you the skills you need for tomorrow’s assignment.
Look to Jesus to guide you through it and help you navagate all the way to the other side of it. Don’t give up halfway through. Storms do not last forever but the lessons you could learn through them will.
It doesn’t matter where it’s coming from, God will use It to get you going in the right direction.
God will whatever opposition is coming at you as an opportunity to grow your faith and character. Let Him.
What is God using your current challenge to develop in you?
Sometimes where you are must get so uncomfortable, so unbearable, so not okay, that changing becomes preferable and therefore possible.
We tend to stay where we are in our relationship to God, our relationship to eachother and even our relationship to ourselves until we are challenged to change by circumstance or when we receive the irrisistable invitation from someone who is “out there” somewhere we want to be.
In Matthew 14, Peter was tired of where he was. He had been battling the winds and waves all night. His very own comfort zone, the boat, had been violently tossed about and though he exerted all his effort, he just wasn’t getting very far.
At first, Peter was terrified when he saw the man calmly walking on the water out in storm. But when he heard him shout “Don’t be afraid”, Peter recognized the voice, trusted and responded in a moment of faith. Of hope. Of belief.
““Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said.
Matthew 14:28 NIV
Peter heard the invitation but he still had to get out of the boat. He still had to take that first impossible step of faith. He probably died a few deaths inbetween the moment he heard Jesus say “Come” and he stepped out of the boat. But he did it.
“Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.”
Matthew 14:29 NIV
Peter decided that he would rather be with Jesus, out in the impossible, than stay where he was. He was tired of straining and wanted to start walking with his Savior once more, no matter where that might be.
Have you been straining and feel exhausted?
Is where you are at spiritually, emotionally or mentally become unbearable?
Jesus invites you to “Come”. To step out of the boat (what you’ve known but what isn’t working) and come walk with Him in the impossible.
If you have heard His invitation and hesitated, I want to encourage you to go for it!
Follow through.
Take the step.
Keep your eyes on Jesus, my friend, and decide that where you are isn’t where your going to stay.
The challenge you are facing is a gift.
It is an opportunity with a divine purpose.
“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. (James 1:2 MSG)
God will use today’s challenges to give you the skills you need for tomorrow’s assignment- if you surrender it to Him. If you ask Him to teach you and guide you throught it.
Look to God to guide you through the storm and help you navagate all the way through it to the other side.
Storms do not last forever and neither do trials, but the lessons you learn through them will.
Some storms are forecasted – you can see them coming and prepare the best you can.
Some storms come on so suddenly and with no warning that there is no way to prepare for them.
“Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat.
But Jesus was sleeping”.
(Matthew 8:24 NIV)
Jesus was resting in the midst of a storm that was so violent it was threatening their lives.
His disciples did the same thing we do in our most violent storms, we go to God and say “why are you sleeping, don’t you care about me? Wake up and save me!
“The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”
Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
(Matthew 8:25-26 NIV)
Jesus was already sleeping, he didn’t need to quiet winds and calm the waves. He was already resting in the middle of it all.
He was able to because:
1). He knew God determined his time on earth, not a storm- even the most violent of ones.
2). He knew who he was- the son of God, on mission from God, filled with the power of God.
3). He knew that eternity was on the other side of physical death. If he died, he would be ushered into heaven and back home.
4). He knew his mission was not over yet.
So he rested and slept.
The best thing for you to do in a storm is rest.
1). Rest in God’s sovereignty – he knows the moment you will cross into eternity.
2). Rest in knowing who you are: an adopted child of God, redeemed by Jesus Christ to live life loved and drenched in God’s grace.
3). Rest in the hope and assurance of heaven bought by the cross and sealed by the resurrection.
4). Rest in the knowledge that if you are here, God’s mission for you is not done yet.
Rest.
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