It was Jesus’ idea to travel to the other side.
With His disciples, He left the crowd behind, and journeyed by boat to a new place on the other side of the lake. A furious storm suddenly raged. Waves crashed over the boat, and they nearly drowned.
Meanwhile, Jesus slept on a cushion in the stern.
If you think about what he had been doing before this little boat ride, his deep sleep makes perfect sense. At least from my introverted (and sometimes-exhausted Mom) perspective. He had been teaching crowds of people, eating meals with people, and traveling about talking with them and healing them.
Mark 4 tells us the disciples took Jesus along in the boat, “just as He was.” And what He was, was completely exhausted. Fully human.
The disciples woke him, with an accusation. Don’t you even care if we drown?!!
He immediately yelled to the wind and the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” (verse 39) And to the amazement of His friends, they elements immediately stilled.
“They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!'” Mark 4:41
Another version words the question this way: “What manner of man is this?” Divine. Jesus was (is) God.
He calmed the storm we read of in Mark 4, and there we see His power over the weather.
But He doesn’t always calm the storm.
We all just watched Hurricane Harvey blow through Houston like a wrecking ball. Even though we live on the east coast, far away from that storm, some of our family is now deep in the process of gutting their home and rebuilding. Over here, we’ve been watching the destruction of Hurricane Irma and wondering what’s next.
Jesus tells us to expect storms–and not only weather-related storms. We’ve all lived through stormy seasons that had nothing to do with the weather. And we know we’ll see more.
So what do we do when storms come through our lives like wrecking balls? When they blow and destroy and we nearly drown?
These 4 Responses to Wrecking-Ball Storms will encourage your heart:
Remember God is with you.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Psalm 23:4
Cry out to Jesus.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. Psalm 107:28-29
Praise the Lord.
I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. Psalm 34:1
Trust Him.
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know Your name TRUST in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You. Psalm 9:9-10
I hope you’re not up to your waist in water today, literally or figuratively. Then you can store these words away so they’ll be there when you need them. If you are under water, living through the destruction, I pray you feel God near and praise Him for that.
I pray He gives you eyes to see beyond the storm.
xoxo, Angela
Angela,
I am pretty exhausted waiting and watching for Irma to come through Florida where my mom and two cousins live. It is hard feeling so helpless against these storms, but your reminders are so valid…remembering God is with them/us, crying out to Him, praising Him even in the midst of the storm, and trusting His heart. Easier said than done, but still that is where our peace lies. Great post!
Blessings,
Bev xx
Thanks for the encouragement. Life DOES feel like I’m waist deep in water right now, but at least it’s figurative! 🙂 i like your 4 steps. Easy to remember. Life-giving.
Storms will come our way but the important lesson we can always remember is that HE is with us in these storms. I love your 4 steps, so easy to remember and apply in our lives.
So glad to link up with you today as well here.
Much blessings
Diana
My great niece is up to her waist in water in her home in Huston. She is not a Christian, quite the opposite. She knows that we are praying for her and her family. I am not giving up on our prayers. we serve a great God!
My brother, is a Christian and can not get to his home in Fort Meyers Florida. God has shown His awesome power on His creation. He can do as He wishes!
I think we Christians often do ourselves and others a disservice assuming a life with Christ will be a bowl full of cherries, then pretending it is when we discover differently. Jesus never promised us that here in this life, but He does offer us His peace if we will seek him in the darkness and brokenness of this world! Thanks for sharing the truth here!
Angela,
Living in the tension of God providing a miracle or God helping us persevere is reality. Thanks for such a balanced post. Praying you sense His presence no matter how He gets you to the other side 🙂
~Sherry Stahl
xoxo
I can see past the storm, as He says Peace be still to my life. We only got storms here in Ga.,two people were killed however. I never notice the as He was phrase, Jesus understands what you call ” Mom ” exhaustion.
Enjoyed this, Angela. Great analogy of hurricane Harvey with how to deal with the storms in life. Oh, I want to see beyond the storm. Thank you!
Thanks for applying the truth that’s all around us these days. Storms come. God stays. We’re blessed even in the midst of the storm. My soul gets amnesia so thanks for saying it here today.
Very inspiring
“Just as He was” … Wow, how I’ve overlooked that little phrase. Thank you for pointing that out! Because you did, I looked up the passage and noticed something else I’ve been overlooking too. In that same verse (Mk 4:36), it says “and other boats were with Him” which would have to mean they too were experiencing the storm and benefited from the abrupt calm.
Good morning! I hope everyone is well and in good spirits!
We’re all going to experience “storms” in life and of course the storms that mother nature brings us.
The ones that mother nature brings us, we prepare our family, our home and pets. We seek shelter, secure our homes (sand bags, boards, or water hoses for those fire storms) We make sure we have food and water, that we have clothing and blankets. We doing everything to our best to make sure our family our children are safe.
As we are all of God’s children, he looks out for our safety also. When we are at our necks with a storm in our life praising him, seeking Him….that’s our Shelter! He covers us with his love, peace and blessings! He will see to it that we will overcome our storm!
He is always with us in ” both storms” keeping us safe and guiding us on his path.
Just like we know our children only have us, their Father and Mother to look to for safety, that’s what God wants us to do…to look to Him…to go to Him! He is the only way, the only answer to our storms!
God Bless 🍁
I love just sitting with the thought that God can calm the storm. You are so right he doesn’t always stop the storm but he can calm our hearts when we allow him in.
Thank you for encouraging us that no matter the storm, He is with us during each one. We can trust Him to get us through. Blessings!
Yes, we will all have storms come and go throughout our entire life so we need to have these tools at the ready. Thanks, Angela, for reminding us that we need to be intentional about how we respond to storms!
Dear Angela, this is one of my favorite stories about Jesus. I love that it combines His humanity and divinity. It begs the question, “Can anything be too hard for Him?” Thank you for the reminder that the resounding answer is, and always will be, “Absolutely not!”
Thank you for the tips of what to do when storms blow into our lives!
You’re so right. While God does allow some storms in our lives, He walks through them with us. In the midst of them He helps us see our need for Him and helps us grow in faith, trust and spiritual maturity.
Yes and Amen! (And Oh how we WANT Him to calm every storm… but he did promise us trouble in the Gospel of John… He also reminded us that He overcomes! What a great list of 4 responses that are so very crucial in helping us cling to the One who Overcomes (if not Stills) every storm!