STORMS

We must find a place in God that provides us rest
and peace during our storms.

Text: Luke 8:22-25

 



Verse 24: "And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, 'Master, Master, we are perishing!' Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm."

 

 

 

 

 

Our 11 year old Golden Retriever, Ginger, is afraid of storms. She didn't used to be so fearful until a few years ago when a terrific storm came through with 70 mph winds for over 6 hours. Ever since, she increasingly gets afraid, scratches at the carpet, tries to get behind furniture or on your lap- and she is NOT a lap dog! To each person a storm is something different. But one thing is for sure- EVERYONE encounters a storm from time to time. There is no way to get out of it.

 

In our text, it was just another day. They were just going from one side of the lake to the other. No big deal. But they were caught up in the storm which came over the lake. They had no control over the storm. They didn't do anything wrong to get into the storm. It just happened. These men were seasoned fishermen and probably had seen and been in many storms in their lives. There was no one to blame for it. God uses storms to see what we are made of. Or better yet- to teach us what we are made of- He already knows. He wants us to know and then to learn and grow from it.

 

Many people go looking for "Jonah" during their storm. You know the story. Jonah was running from God and got on a ship. A storm arose and the men on board questioned about Jonah- and sure enough- he was to blame. But most of the time there is no hidden Jonah on board. There is no one to blame- not others, ourselves or even God.

 

The disciples were very fearful and cried out to Jesus: "Help us! We are going to die!!!!"  Jesus just got up and rebuked the wind and water and all became calm. The thing is, as spirit-filled Christians we have Christ's spirit within us and we should also have that calmness and rest. In another incident, Jesus was actually walking out on the water during the storm. He was at peace and rest. He wasn't worried that the storm was going to take His life. Yes, He was the Son of God for sure. But we have His spirit. We should have that same calmness and assurance when we find ourselves in a storm.

 

The disciples went through many more storms after this: persecution, violence, imprisonment, etc. But as their faith and confidence grew in what Christ was doing in their lives, they became more and more effective during their storms. They found peace in God that provided them rest and peace.

 

And so should we. We have it if we have Christ living within us. We have that same spirit, that same anointing, that same power and authority. No, maybe the storm won't go away- but even during the storm we should be able to maintain an attitude of peace and calmness that allows us to go through the storm and come out on the other side. We must be sure that if that storm is raging around us that it does not rage within us.

 

Storms- they are a part of life. We must learn how to react during those times and place our hope and confidence in Jesus Christ.

 

 

(Taken from Pastor Keith's message 9/22/2013)