This morning I needed to go over to our landscaping office early to talk to one of our employees. As I walked back to the house, a noticed a bright pink to my left. I turned and there it was: The dawning of a new day and the reminder that God is still at work in this world in an amazing way.
One of those ways is by giving peace to His children in the storms of life (John 14:27). And this peace isn’t the promise of a nice man who walked the earth 2000 years ago. Can we really believe the promises Jesus makes to those who are redeemed by His blood if we don’t understand Who He really is?
We are reading Mark 4 for the Bible Reading Challenge right now (it’s not too late to join! Click here if you are interested) and at the end of the chapter is this account:
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he 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 awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
As I read that…I mean really read it… I was filled with amazement. Jesus stopped the wind! He brought calm to the raging sea! As the disciples put it: Even the wind and the sea obey Him.
When we stop to reflect on what this really means, we must realize the implications of this. Jesus’s power is far beyond what we could possibly comprehend. He is ALL-POWERFUL.
This means that He not only has power over physical storms, but He also has complete power over our personal storms. We know that nothing can reach us without His permission and we also know that He will uphold us through it all.
The timing isn’t always what we would desire as we weather the storms that come our way. In fact, if we had our way, we’d prefer sunshine and clear skies. I am sure the disciples would have chosen the same. They would have preferred not to endure that time of fear and trembling as the boat heaved on the waves and water spilled over its sides and started to cover the bottom.
But Jesus used that storm to show them just how powerful He really was. Think of it: He had already healed many hopelessly diseased and maimed people in their midst. He had cast out many demons, giving those possessed their lives back again. The disciples had seen all of this. But this was different. Here, He was commanding the weather.
Colossians 1:16-17 helps us understand how Jesus can do this–
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by[f] him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
In these verses we find that Christ is what actually holds the world together. Without Him, it ceases to exist!
I wonder if we haven’t been affected by our culture when it comes to our weak view of Jesus? He is portrayed as a kind, gentle man who is compassionate and sets a good example for us to follow. But do we really stop and realize that He is so much more?
And so when we face those storms that inevitably come, may we remember that we aren’t saved by some nice man who lived 2000 years ago. No, we are saved by our omniscient, omnipotent Savior. And while He will allow storms to buffet us, they are for His glory and our good (Romans 8:28-29), so that we may become more like Christ. And, through those storms (and the sunshine, too), He has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). We are His own and no one can snatch us out of His hand (John 10:27-28). And, through it all, we are promised peace “which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:6-7). 3
Let us cling to Jesus alone. May we stop looking to man’s philosophies, human therapists, and man-made solutions. While these may serve to temporarily help us, it is only Jesus that has the power to bring us through any storm stronger in the faith and looking more like His image!
May we be encouraged today, as we remember just Who it is Who has saved us and may we seek to honor Him through any storms He allows in our lives.
AMEN!