Storms in life...

Matthew 8:23-27
Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
He 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.

The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

We all experience some type of storms in our lives. There have been times when we may have felt angry, frustrated, worried, afraid, fearful, and so on… Think about the storms in your life-the situations that cause you great anxiety. What do storms mean for us? In Webster’s dictionary storm is defined as the following:

*Heavy rain, snow, or hail with high winds.
*To be very angry (rage).
*To feel attacked by something.

Our lives can be compared to the mother nature of storms. I remember last fall when the city of Cincinnati was attacked by a massive wind and rain storm as a result of the hurricane down south. We had up to 70mph winds and rain was pouring down like crazy. As I was looking outside in amazement, I realized that there was nothing I can do to control the weather. Trees were falling, branches breaking off; personal things around people’s properties were blowing away, and power was turned off. I’m sure there was so much more that went on during this time. It was a crazy moment! The whole city of Cincinnati was without power. It really did feel like a strange time for me as I was without power for one full week. Schools were cancelled and I did not work for that whole week.

How often do we experience storms in our personal lives? Honestly, I feel like it happens quite often. I think there is a reason why that it happens. Most of the times it is because we don’t see things happening the way we want it to happen. Our emotions arise and we feel like we’re being attacked by something, then we blame others. Sometimes things just happen and we ask ourselves, “WHY?” I don’t think we can really control the storms in our lives, but we can control who we can put our trust…Jesus or ourselves.

During that whole week when I did not have any power, things got a lot quieter. I realized that I was living a busy lifestyle that demanded a lot out of me. The minute that got taken away from me, everything felt calmer. It was at that moment when I realized that as soon as I trust Jesus with my trials and tribulations, He calms it down for me.

I believe that Jesus allows storms in our lives so that he can show that He is fully in control and that we must trust in Him. There is often a stormy area of our human nature where we feel God can’t work or won’t work. When we truly understand who God is, however, we will realize that he controls both the storms of nature and the storms of the troubled heart. Jesus’ power that calmed this storm in this passage can also help us deal with the problems we face. Jesus is willing to help if we only ask him. We should never think that Jesus can’t do anything to help us in our trials and tribulations. Whatever your difficulty, you have two options: you can both worry and assume that Jesus doesn’t care or you can put your full trust in Him.

When you feel like panicking, confess your need for God and then trust Him to care for you. Always remember that God is sovereign. God controls the history of the world as well as our personal lives. Just as Jesus calmed the waves, he can calm whatever storms you may face. God Bless you and I pray that you will make the choice to follow Jesus in every part of your life.

In closing, Psalm 107:28-30

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

and he brought them out of their distress.

He stilled the storm to a whisper;

the waves of sea were hushed.

They were glad when it grew calm,

and he guided them to their desired haven.