All our storms.
We are talking about storms this weekend—events outside of ourselves that we cannot control but that have the potential to ruin us in some way, emotionally, physically, or even spiritually. As always, Jesus sets the stage with a situation from Matthew 8 that will teach the disciples a very important life lesson, and we too can take great notes and learn from what they learned.
Jesus, in Matthew 8:23-27, takes the disciples on a little jaunt out into the middle of a lake that many of them knew very well. Peter, James, and John were fishermen on this lake called the Sea of Galilee. They fished these waters and gained their livelihood from this. Peter was apparently able to provide for his family as well as his mother-in-law with the profits from his fishing (early part of Matthew 8). The point: they knew these waters quite well.
While they were drifting along, probably slowly rowing their way to another beach on this lake, a furious storm rose up. Because of the low lying lake (some 700 feet below sea level) and the hills that surrounded the lake (up to 2000 feet above sea level), conditions were always ripe for a quick-brewing storm, and this storm whipped up so fast and furious they were sure they were goners.
The seasoned sailors were overwhelmed by the storm and called out to Jesus, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” // Matthew 8:25. Jesus immediately calls their faith into question. He doesn’t address their nautical skills or ask them to man the lifeboats—there were none. [Jesus] 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 8:26.
What storms tend to erupt in your life? Are you facing any kind of storms right now? And how is your faith handling them? Or maybe I could rephrase that slightly: your faith depends and holds onto something. Depending on what you trust in, and how firmly you hold to it, this will determine your state of mind in riding out the storms of life. How are you doing?
To ask this yet another way (and in a way that assumes you already trust in Jesus):
How big is your God compared to the storm?
How much do you believe your God loves you?
Every one of us is challenged by storms coming into our seven-day week. We don’t schedule them, but they continue to make their appearance. How we react reveals to us the answers to the two questions above. If you already believe that Jesus exists and that Jesus loves you to some extent, these questions are meant for you to explore the “how much” part and determine where you’re at in your faith journey. How much “bigness” do you believe your God has compared to the storm? How much love do you believe your God has for you? We all wrestle with a discrepancy that exists between the real Jesus, who loves us so much he died for us, and the not-quite-biblical version of Jesus that kind of loves us and is only kind of attentive to us. At times we tend to believe more in that latter version, that false version of Jesus. Let’s get real.
When storms take you by surprise, it is God’s way of allowing a quick check on where your trust in him is at. He is able to handle every storm; do we believe it? He is already eternally glued to us; his heart is attached to ours. Do we get it yet? Each storm will turn you back to your faith; is it small, is it improved from last year’s version of faith, is it stifled by a lack of Bible study, is it being squashed by incessant worry, or is it throbbing and multiplying under the weight of the Savior’s precious concern for you?
We all worry. Don’t sweat that detail, but how big is your worry and how big is your Jesus?
Blessings to you, in Christ, the Master of all our storms!
Pastor Al