"EXPERIENCING THE STORM"

Mark 4:35-41: 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. 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?" 39 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the water, "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?" 41 The disciples were absolutely terrified. "Who is this man?" they asked each other. "Even the wind and waves obey him!"

So here we sit in Georgia experiencing the storm. It seems as though maybe we brought some of our Maine weather with us! For us, it's not as big of a deal as it is to most people here. We've grown up with this type of weather, being from Maine. We don't think twice about going out on the roads during weather like this because it's something we are used to. I will say, however, they don't take care of roads down here like they do in Maine nor do people know how to drive on these types of roads like they do in Maine!

As I was observing the storm today I was thinking about how we are living in an area that can get this type of weather from time to time but it is unusual. The first storm we had a few weeks ago caught everyone off guard and they weren't prepared. This one was a little different, having now experienced the storm; they were ready for this one.

As I was thinking about all of these things I thought about the storms we may face in our own lives. Sometimes storms come our way that we may see coming from a distance. Other times we may be at a certain point in our lives when we think we are safe from storms but they hit anyway. We think we are in an area where we are safe from the storms we experienced in our past but we get caught by surprise.

Maybe you're in the midst of one of these storms in your life. Take what you've learned from your past storms and use those things to prepare yourself for the storm you're in or for a coming storm. I believe every storm we face builds faith and allow us to not only get through future storms but also to help others through their storm. Some of the guys I work with asked me how we took care of storms like this in Maine. Having lived there I was able to tell them how that was done. If I've experienced a storm in my life, I can then help someone else out when they face a similar storm. Although every storm is different, some of the same principles and techniques still apply.

In the passage I used this week you find this storm that suddenly came up. If you research some history you find that this area that they were in was known for storms to suddenly form. Now, they knew this but it appears that they still were not prepared. Jesus was sleeping in the boat and it appeared to them that He didn't care, but really, He already knew the storm would hit and He already knew how to handle the storm. That is why He responded the way he did when he was woken up. "Silence! Be still!" Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?" Notice he asked them, "Do you still have no faith?" Obviously they had been through enough storms that they should have known Jesus would take care of it, yet they still struggled with faith.

We all have been through storms in our lives and more than likely some storms that were similar to others. I also don't think it's uncommon that we may struggle with having faith in some areas even though we've experienced it before. We find ourselves trying to wake Jesus up to tell him about our storm because it may seem like he doesn't care. Let me assure you, he's been across this lake, in the same boat before. He knew the storm would hit even if we didn't and he's got it under control even if it seems like he may not. With just a word he can stop the storm as suddenly as it started.

When we find ourselves in these types of storms, let's ask ourselves, why are we afraid, why do we still have no faith? We've been through enough to know that Jesus sees the storm, he's in the boat with us and he will see us through.

I pray you are encouraged with this and that you keep the faith as you experience the storm. God Bless!