Untitled Sermon (95)

Growing Strong Faith in the Storms of Life

April 17, 2023

Articles may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. View scripture reference copyright FAQ" It is inevitable that storms of life will hit and toss you about but when that happens, is your faith strong? 📷 Digging Deeper: Luke 8:22-25 When life gets stormy, it is easy to panic like the disciples did that day on Lake Galilee. They were strong fishermen who were used to the unpredictable weather of this lake. It could be calm one moment and not the next. Storms would violently toss their small boat like it was made of paper. Have you ever noticed that a sailboat has a huge keel that goes deep into the water? It provides balance and stability. During the time of Jesus, the fishing boats on Lake Galilee didn’t have keels. The bottom of these boats was relatively flat so they could be pulled up on the shore or navigated through shallow sections of water. Not having a keel made these boats less stable in rough waters when squalls suddenly hit. That’s what happened that afternoon. These capable fishermen knew they were in grave danger. I am sure they had known many boats to have capsized in storms. 📷 Jesus is Sleeping The winds on Lake Galilee didn’t just come from one direction but swirled in all different directions. These men were experienced. They made their living fishing on the lake. When a boat doesn’t have a keel, the occupants of the boat must shift their weight to compensate. But it wasn’t working and the boat started to fill with water. These strong fishermen-disciples knew there was little chance of survival and panicked in a big way! Jesus is Sleeping The winds on Lake Galilee didn’t just come from one direction but swirled in all different directions. These men were experienced. They made their living fishing on the lake. When a boat doesn’t have a keel, the occupants of the boat must shift their weight to compensate. But it wasn’t working and the boat started to fill with water. These strong fishermen-disciples knew there was little chance of survival and panicked in a big way! But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. Luke 8:23 They had only one hope. Their hope was in Jesus! But He was so tired from a day of sharing parables with the people who were following Him that He had fallen into a deep sleep. The disciples must have yelled over the winds to wake Him! And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Luke 8:24 Growing Strong Faith in the Storms Of Life We can think we know how we will respond to life’s storms but we really don’t know until it happens. 📷 There are all kinds of ways that storms hit us: Illness or injuryFinancesRebellious childDifficult toddlerAre you having a storm hitting your life? Since we don’t know ahead of time, how we will react, how can we prepare ourselves? A Panic Prayer is Better than No Prayer These men knew that they couldn’t control the winds and waves. They didn’t have the power to do anything to calm the storms that suddenly would appear on the lake. They had seen Jesus work miracles in the lives of many people and had faith that He was their only hope. The words they frantically shouted over the noise of the storm were prayers to Jesus. They went to the One who could calm and give peace in the storm. When you are in a storm, Jesus is the ONLY One who can bring peace to your life. Is Your Faith Strong? But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” Luke 8:25 Your prayers when life’s storms hit may be panicked just like the disciples were that day. Jesus gently rebuked and reminded them to have faith in Him by asking, “Where is your faith?” Jesus has not changed and just as He calmed the physical storm that day over 2,000 years ago, He can calm your storms. Your situation may be removed or may remain but know for certain that . . . He will remove your panic and replace it with a calm that is incomprehensible and full of peace. 📷 My Testimony of When Storms of Life Hit It is easy to take a passage from Scripture and write about it without having really experienced it. I have had storms in my life that hit my family and almost destroyed it. A storm that is really hard to face is when your children choose not to follow the Lord. When we know that our children walk with God it brings us unspeakable joy! I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 3 John 1: The storm that day on the Lake of Galilee could have destroyed that small fishing boat and its passengers. The storms of my life could have destroyed my faith in God but instead, I cried out to Jesus and He has given me the same grace and peace as that day on the lake so long ago. You might be sinking into depression and despair as I did just a few years ago. Your storm might be fierce! Cry out to Jesus because He can calm your storm and give you peace as you have never experienced before. Jesus wants to give you peace and for you to live in victory! When the storms of life hit, They always seem to appear stronger than the Word of God and it is important to ask, where is your faith? Is Your Faith Strong When Storms of Life Hit? If you are in need of encouragement, you can email me or leave me a comment!