The past couple of weeks I have met several people who have been dealing with some very serious situations in their lives.  Some of the situations they have been dealing with have come upon suddenly and some of them have been long term isues.  But all of these situations have been serious, frightening and faith shaking matters that have threatened these individuals much like a storm can threaten a small boat upon the seas.  The bible talks about how to endure those storms, how to manage through those “less than ideal situations” we face in this life.  One such passage is found in Mark 4:35.  Jesus has been with His disciples and He has been teaching by the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

Mark 4:35 On that day, when evening came, (Jesus) said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.”  36 Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him.  37 And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up.  38 Jesus Himself 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?”  39 And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.  40 And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”  41 They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” 

This passage provides us some wonderful insight about the nature and the character of our Lord.  It also provides us some insight about our own nature and character.  Jesus had been teaching a crowd on the shores of the Sea of Galileeand the crowd became so big that Jesus got into a boat and pushed out from the shore so that He could teach and speak to all of them gathered on the banks of the shore.  And as He spoke to them gathered on incline of the banks of the shore it was as if they were in an amphitheater surrounding.  Oh, can I tell you the Lord loves to find a way to reach people?  Jesus finishes His teaching and we see the Lord inviting the disciples to undertake a journey with Him.

For just as much as the Lord loves to reach people, He also loves to invite His disciples, His followers to go on a journey with Him.  Jesus invited the disciples to stay in the boat with Him and cross the Sea of Galilee with Him and go the other side.  The Sea of Galilee is about 5 miles wide at the point where they were crossing.  This sea is known for its violent storms that come up so suddenly with waves that peak and crest and slam against the boats.  So here we have the disciples in the boat with Jesus and now this storm comes upon them.  The bible describes it as a “fierce gale with waves breaking over the boat” and the disciples thought they were going to sink!  And we have to remember that some of these disciples were fishermen, they were accustomed to storms, they were familiar with waves, so for them to be frightened, this must be a really bad storm.

I am sure that in the midst of this storm, they tried some things on their own.  I am sure they leaned on their own understandings.  I am sure they began to bail some water and batten down the hatches.  I believe there was a sense of panic on that boat.  Sometimes in the midst of a storm, it is hard to keep remain calm.  Finally somebody said, “We need to call upon the Lord.”  See, Jesus was with them.  He had invited them on that journey, they had joined up with Him and He was responsible for taking them to the other side.  The bible says that He was sleeping in the boat, at rest, at peace, not bothered, not surprised and not upset by this storm.  The disciples ran to Him in their fear and woke Him up.  Jesus arose and spoke to the wind, “Hush, be still.”

Jesus quieted the storm that was threatening His disciples.  And then He spoke to those He loved saying, “Why are you scared?  Where is your faith?”  And by asking them that He is asking, “Why do you not trust that I will protect you on this journey that I invited you on?  Why do you not trust that I will be with you, guide you and watch over you?  Why do you not believe that I can be trusted to take you through to the other side?  Why did you not call on me sooner?”

Those are valid questions for those who have called Him Lord, who have agreed to go on a journey with Him.  Oh, you need to know that the Lord desires that we follow Him.  He desires that we go on a journey with Him.  But just because we go on a journey with Him does not mean we will not face storms in our life.  Sometimes those storms will come upon us suddenly and violently.  They can cause us to panic and we begin to bail water and batten down hatches in our own strength until we are weak and weary.  So many times we never stop to recognize that the Lord is waiting for us to lift up His Name, He is waiting for us to call upon Him to calm the storms in our life.  Oh and we need to call upon Him for He is able to rebuke the storms in our life.

So why don’t we call on Him?  Why do we do we face the winds and the waves alone?  Why do we try and bail the water out of the boat by ourselves?  I believe it is because we are afraid of His reaction.  I believe it is because we are afraid of what He will say to us rather than what He will say to the storm.  Oh my goodness, please understand, Jesus turns away the storm that threatens His people, He does not turn away His people threatened by the storm!  Jesus does not turn you away when you are weary, frightened, grieving, or struggling with some problem that threatens to overwhelm you in this life.  He will turn to your storm, your problem, your addiction or whatever else threatens to overwhelm you and say, “Hush, be still!”  But His words to you will be words of trust, words of comfort, words like those recorded in Matthew 11: 28 – 29.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.

Oh, I hope you get that.  I hope you know that He will offer you rest, that He will offer you a port from the storms in your life.  Oh, I hope you understand that you can call on Him.  I hope you know that should call on Him, because He will tame the wind, calm the waves and quiet the storms that you face in your life!

There is a peace that is available to all of us!  It is available if we only call Christ to the front of our boat.  We should put Jesus in charge of the journey that we are on in this life.  Peace is available if we allow Christ to speak to the storms that we face.

So many times we don’t do that.  All of us fall short in that area, even preachers.  And when we fall short it causes us missed opportunities at the best that God has to offer for us.  It causes us to miss opportunities to reconcile broken relationships, missed opportunities to experience the fullness that this life has to offer and to receive all of the blessings and the peace the Lord desires for us.  And it certainly causes us to struggle unnecessarily in the midst of a storm that the Lord could have quieted for us.

I pray that you will know the Lord’s peace and experience His best.  I pray that you will never hesitate to call Christ to front of your boat and let Him calm your storms and lead you on your journey in this life.  Call upon His Name for He offer Peace and Rest!

If you would like to know more about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you can send me an email directly at pastorpstephens@aol.com