Trusting God in the Storm

This week's devotion comes from Mark’s Gospel account of Jesus’ calming the storm. It is an excellent passage to remind us to, “Trust God in the storms of life!” It is found in Mark 4:35-41:35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”In this incredible passage, Jesus and His disciples cross the Sea of Galilee to get to the other side of the lake. As they were crossing, a strong windstorm arose, described in the Greek language as a “whirlwind.” The storm was so fierce that it was similar to a hurricane. The storm became so incredible that these experienced fishermen who spent most of their lives on the water catching fish were afraid of losing their lives. Their desperate and helpless feelings grew as the water began to fill the boat, which led them to wake Jesus from sleep and to cry out to Him in desperation, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

The situation was dire and bleak as these disciples relied upon themselves. It’s interesting that the disciples did not call on Jesus immediately. It’s not in the text, but in their delay, is it possible they were relying on their own experience in the storm before they cried out to Jesus? Also, notice when they came to the end of themselves in desperation, they cried out to Jesus, rebuking Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” We need to keep in mind that although they believed He was the Messiah, they were still learning His identity. This is clear in what follows.I love how Jesus responds. Jesus awoke from sleep and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm (4:39). But then He spoke to His disciples, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” (4:40). Notice how the disciples responded, “And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, ‘Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!’” (4:41). What can we learn from this that can help us when we, like the disciples, enter the storms of life?

When the disciples entered the storm, they were not alone. Jesus was with them in the boat. When you enter a storm in your life, or if you are in a storm right now, remember, Jesus is with you in the storm. You are not alone.

When the storm began, it is possible that the disciples tried to manage the storm using their own experience and relying completely upon themselves. It’s possible in our storms of life that we also will try to manage things ourselves and try to overcome them in our own strength. Instead, we need to immediately come to Jesus and depend upon Him to manage the storm in our lives and rely on His strength to endure and eventually overcome it.

When the storm became very serious and life-threatening, the disciples finally awoke Jesus, rebuking Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Instead of waiting until things get desperate or allowing yourself to question God's love for you or getting angry with God, realize that Jesus is in the storm with you. He is waiting for you to cry out to Him to rescue you so He can say to your storm, “Peace, be still!”

When storms come into our lives, it may appear that God doesn’t care or isn’t with us, but this passage makes it very clear that God is with us. When we go through storms in our lives, God wants us to completely trust Him and remember that He has authority over every storm in our lives. And they must obey Him.If you are going through a storm at this time, why not ask the Holy Spirit to give you the grace to completely trust the Lord and to give you the grace to allow Him to use your trial to accomplish His sanctifying work in your life?

Psalm 46:1, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."