I sat along the shore of the little island we were visiting and watched the evening sky. I had been looking forward to seeing the sun set over the ocean, but there were too many clouds to the west. A small opening teased me by allowing me to see just a sliver of the beautiful colors on the other side. I was disappointed but was enjoying the quiet and peaceful evening anyhow.
As evening fell, bolts of lightening lit up the dark clouds that had been blocking my view. I amused myself by trying to catch the flashes of lightening with my camera. My daughter-in-law soon joined me with her camera as well. We were clicking away, focused intently on the storm when I heard my son down the shoreline, “Wow! Isn’t this beautiful? Isn’t God amazing?” I peeked away from my camera and saw him standing on the dock and watching in awe as the sky lit up in the distance.
His words surprised me. I had never thought of lightening as being beautiful, but in this moment, I realized he was right.
I have come a long way. Though there are still times when I do get scared by a storm, there was a time when I was absolutely terrified anytime a storm was in the forecast.
Despite all the modern knowledge and technology, we are unable to control impending storms. All we are able to do is prepare for them and ride them out.
In chapter 4:35-41 of Mark, Jesus instructed his disciples to get into a boat with Him to cross the Sea of Galilee. On the way to the other side, a terrible storm arose, and the waves were so high that the boat began filling up with water. Luke’s account of the story says they were in “great danger.”
Jesus was fast asleep, so the disciples woke him up, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
Jesus woke up and said to the waves, “Peace! Be still!” The wind stopped, and all was calm.
Then He asked His disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”
“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?’” (Mark 4:41 ESV)
The disciples recognized that when Jesus calmed the storm, He had done something that only God can do. The One who spoke everything into existence is also able to speak authority over all of creation. God has ultimate control over everything and He was right there with them!!!
Even as a follower of Christ, we will encounter storms. Jesus says in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Storms can take us by surprise. We might find ourselves facing a bad report from the doctor, loss of a loved one, job termination, natural disaster, an accident, crime, persecution, evil…. Sometimes in our storm, it may seem that Jesus is silent or that He doesn’t care. But He does care. The Creator of the Universe, the God who fed the multitude, healed the sick, raised the dead, calmed the sea, died in our place and rose from the dead is right here with us!
While the enemy wants us to be scared and question whether Jesus cares, Jesus wants us to trust and have peace in Him. No matter how dark and scary it may get, Jesus is still in control through these faith-testing storms and He cares.
Jesus has the power to calm every storm, but sometimes, for reasons that we may not understand, He does not calm our storm on this side of heaven. However, when we put our faith in Him, we can be assured that He is always with us and will see us through whatever storms come until He takes us home to heaven with Him forever. We can trust the words of Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” and we can trust that Jesus is with us.
Hold on to the hope in Revelation 21:4 that one day, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Until then, He is with us here through the storms that arise, and He does care. Peace! Be still!
Do you know someone who needs a reminder that Jesus is with them? Share the good news today! Give them a call, go visit them, share this blog post or send a card or matted print from Every Season Creations (etsy.com/shop/everyseasoncreations).
