“And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.” Luke 8:23
Storms. Violent disturbances in the atmosphere. Add prefixes of electric-, thunder-, sand-, wind-, snow-, it makes no difference. We know they’re coming, yet we can’t stop them. Science explains them as great changes of pressure, temperature, and humidity, but that does little to mitigate our dread. Nor does it help to create whimsical names for them, like Katrina, Sandy, Ike, Sebastien or Joaquin. They’re still ugly.
But it’s the storms of life we fear the most, like disruption of relationships, incidents of violence, loss of job, financial crisis, tragedy of injury, disease or death. They bring everything in life to a screeching halt. Moreover, we must not minimize them. The Holmes-Rahe Scale measures the impact of forty-three kinds of stressful events on, assigning a point value each of them from 100 points for the death of a spouse down to 11 points for a minor traffic violation. A total of over 150 points at once can lead to a major illness or breakdown. Storms can alter the direction of our lives.
It is amazing to our human state of mind, then, that Jesus slept through the storm in question. The anxiety of his disciples, however, woke Him up. “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.” Luke 8:24. The storm didn’t concern Jesus, but its effect on His disciples. He calmed the wind and the waves for the disciple’s benefit, not His own. He knew that the storm was not deadly or else he would not have charted the course to the other side of the sea that day. When storms happen, don’t focus on the storm; instead, study your response to it.
Some storms are God-ordained. “Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples.” Luke 8:22. God puts us through tests and trials (1 Peter 1:1-7; 4:12-16), because storms perfect us and make us stronger. Storms sharpen our sailing skills. Storms teach us to lean on Jesus. Storms deepen our walk with God.
Some storms are caused by someone else. When Paul’s ship encountered a storm, he warned the sailors not to leave the ship. He was a prisoner on board. He had to suffer the fate of everyone else on the ship. (Acts 27:7-14). If you had your way as a husband, wife, parent, you would have made a wide berth around the storm. But when you are deeply involved with someone, you cannot cut them off. You must go through the fire with them. In the end, Paul became the salvation of the ship. You may ultimately be the reason that your loved ones are saved.
Storms, regardless of why they come, bolster your faith. This storm gave the disciples a front row seat to Jesus’ command over the elements. In the middle of the storm, it is not time to question why. It makes no sense to react in anger, fear, bitterness, resentment or hatred. It is time to cry out to the Master. And, always remember, that there are some things the storm can never affect. They cannot abolish your sure foundation. They cannot destroy the vessel with Christ on board. Nothing will happen to you that God does not permit.
It is folly to insist that God provide you with a perfect existence; a painless life, endless love from everyone, or a life free from disappointment. You can, however, be taught an invaluable lesson, find peace in the eye of the storm, and the know the presence of God each mile of the way!