God of the Storm

1 Peter 1:5–7 NLT

5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. 6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

I want to talk to you about learning to trust God in the storm.

I don’t know about you, but I like it when it is storming at night when I am about to go to sleep. There is something soothing about the wind and the rain and the occasional thunderclap.

But honestly, that’s about the only time I like a storm. Storms are inconvenient at best and devastating at worst.

We have all experienced storms in our lives. In fact, some of us are going through them right now.

Have you ever been in a storm and wondered why? Why are these things happening to me? Why is life so difficult right now?

Unfortunately, we are told that storms, or troubles, are inevitable (Mark 13:5-8, John 16:31-33).

The good news is that when we turn to God in every storm we will develop the faith that will not be troubled by them.

Anchored in the Storm

Between Florida and North Carolina we’ve seen our fair share of hurricanes. When one is on the approach the news is dominated by weather reports and storm warnings.

They can’t always predict the exact path of a storm, but they can with great confidence tell us when a storm is on the way. At that point, it doesn’t do any good to ignore the storm warnings and hope they’ll miss us and pass us by.

In those situations we need to prepare and be ready for the storm. We need to be anchored in our faith (cf. Hebrews 6.19). Our faith is the victory in the face of every storm and it is by faith that God’s people live (1 John 5:4, Hebrews 10:38).

Preparing For the Storm

When it comes to facing storms, there are two principles that can help us with the why of the storm and one thing to remember no matter the storm.

Sometimes God Sends the Storm

Jonah 1:1–9 NKJV

1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. 4 But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” 7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

Did you notice how many times Jonah went down? (5x in the first 5 verses).

Why did He do that? to flee from the presence of the LORD (2x).

And what was God’s response?

Jonah 1:4 EMPH

But Yahweh hurled a great wind against the sea, and there arose a mighty tempest in the sea,—and the ship thought to be broken in pieces,

God didn’t just send a storm, he hurled it (same word for sailors hurling cargo later hurling Jonah overboard. This came suddenly, rapidly, and forcefully. So much so that the Hebrew personifies the ship and says that it thought it was going to be broken apart.

Again, why did Jonah go through the storm? Because he was running from God and from His purpose.

What was the point of the storm? Did it kill Jonah or the crew? It was a tool in God’s hands to get Jonah to acknowledge Him and turn to Him in faith.

If you are running from God’s presence or purpose for your life, return to Him. If you are in sin, repent.

Illustration: The parrot given to a man named John. Foul language. John tried to teach it, played soft music, nothing worked. Finally he’d had enough after a shouting match he shoved the parrot into the freezer. After a short time, the noise in the freezer ceased. John was afraid of hurting or killing the bird so he opened the freezer and pulled him out. Suddenly the parrot was polite, respectful, apologetic and repentant. As John was about to ask the bird what changed its mind, the parrot said, “May I ask what the turkey did?”

God chose the storm to get Jonah’s attention. When you are in a storm the first thing you should do is turn to God and see if He is the one sending it your way.

Sometimes God Sends Us Through the Storm

Mark 4:35–41 NKJV

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!”

Sometimes God sends the storm to us and sometimes He sends us through the storm.

In this case, Jesus made it clear that they were going over to the other side.

The storm arose and began to buffet the boat so much so that it was taking on water. Where was Jesus? He is asleep in the back of the boat! The back of the boat is where they steered it from.

The disciples were so overwhelmed that they thought Jesus had led them here to kill them. But He had a different purpose. He stood up and rebuked the wind (a word often used in association with casting out demons). He spoke to the sea and commanded it to be still.

Then, Jesus turns to them and asks them where was their faith. They were more afraid of Jesus than they were of the storm as they suddenly discovered that He was greater.

Sometimes God sends us through the storm so that our faith can grow as we gain a greater revelation of who He is.

When you are going through a storm call upon the Lord. Wait upon Him. Watch for Him to reveal Himself. This will result in your faith being strengthened (cf. Psalm 27:14).

Illustration: Revelation can be unveiling or decoding. Michelangelo famously said of his sculpture of David, “I created a vision of David in my mind and simply carved away everything that was not David.”

A storm will strip away anything not of faith. It is used by God to reveal His grace and power and presence in our lives.

When you are going through a storm ask the Lord how He wants to reveal Himself.

Always God Is a Refuge in the Storm

Isaiah 25:4 NKJV

For You have been a strength to the poor, A strength to the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, A shade from the heat; For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

Finally, as we face every storm, there is one thing that every Christian can count on: God is our refuge and strong tower.

God will keep you safe and will see you through as you face the winds and the rains.

If you are in a storm you can take refuge in God.

Trust in the Lord and He will keep you in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3).

Call on the Lord and He will deliver you from troubles and affliction (Psalm 34:17-19).

Illustration: A group of botanists noticed through binoculars a flower of rarity and beauty laying deep in a ravine.  A curious young boy was watching nearby, and the scientists told him they would pay him well if he would agree to be lowered over the cliff to retrieve the flower below. The boy took one long look down and said, “I’ll be back in a minute.” A short time later he returned, followed by a gray-haired man. Approaching the botanist, the boy said, “I’ll go over that cliff and get that flower for you if this man holds the rope. He’s my dad.” (Our Daily Bread, April 8, 1996).

You can face any trouble or storm or danger if you trust in God to be your strength. He will hold you and keep you and fortify you.

Hold fast to this truth. You can trust the Lord. No matter what you are facing, He is a refuge from the storm.

Conclusion

The problem with storms is that they are real and inevitable.

Sometimes they come from God because we get turned around and are not walking in His will.

Sometimes God brings us through them so that our faith might be strengthened and so that we have a deeper experience with God.

Always God is a refuge for us in the midst of the storm.

Romans 8:28 NKJV

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

When you know why the storms come you can see them differently.

You can avoid the first kind of storm by walking with God and keeping His word.

You can learn from the second kind of storm if you will recognize God’s purpose.

In every storm you can find refuge if you turn to the Lord in faith.