Jesus Calms The Storm

Intro

Have you ever felt like life is out of control?

Like everything is going wrong and you can’t do anything about it.

This is hard for us to experience, because typically, we like to be in control of our lives.

We like to control:

-What we’re going to do each day

-Where we are going to go

-How we are going to do things

-When we are going to do those things

However, if you haven’t noticed it yet, you aren’t in control of everything.

I’m not in control of everything.

-Think about the weather. We can’t control it, but it controls and determines a lot of what happens in our lives. Has anyone ever had a sports game or special event be canceled or postponed due to rain or bad weather?

-Or have you ever been late getting somewhere because of bad traffic? No matter how good and efficient you drive, if there’s traffic, it’s out of your control.

Or maybe on a more serious note:

-Your family is going through a tough time

-Someone you love has gotten sick

-Maybe someone you love passed away

And things just feel out of control.

This morning, I want us to look at a true story from God’s Word that will help us know who is in control whenever life feels out of control.

Before we do, let’s ask God to help us see Him in His Word.

(pray)

Text

Mark 4:35–41 CSB

35 On that day, when evening had come, he told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” 36 So they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat. And other boats were with him. 37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?” 39 He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 And they were terrified and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”

A Great Windstorm

This story makes me think of the crazy storms we had just last week! Did anybody get a lot of rain and wind? It was wild. Some heavy winds.

This is what the disciples experienced in the midst of the storm. Notice how the text says “A great windstorm arose”; this wasn’t just any plain old storm. This storm was so great that the waves began to crash, so much so that they were breaking over the boat, causing water to get into the boat.

And if you know anything about boats, its that: water filling up a boat = sinking. Boats are supposed to float on the water, not have water floating in them!

Now, notice what Jesus was doing in the midst of this situation. The winds are howling, the boat is filling, but Jesus is sleeping. It tells us He was in the stern, the back of the boat, asleep on a cushion.

While Jesus might’ve been sleeping, His disciples were panicking. They said to Him,

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 4

“Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?”

They were thinking: don’t you see what’s going on Jesus? Do you not care? How the waves are crashing, the boat is filling, and eventually we are gonna be sinking?

The disciples felt like things were out of control. They looked all around them and noticed all of the things they weren’t in control of.

The disciples were worried for their lives!

A Greater Savior

The disciples were so worried that they woke Jesus up. And what happens next might be one of the most amazing things ever:

Mark 4:39 CSB

39 He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Could you imagine seeing this take place? Imagine if Jesus told the wind last Tuesday that we experienced to be still, and boom, immediately the high winds stopped? And it was calm? He has the power to do that!

This is exactly what happened. The disciples experienced the great storm, but they witnessed an even greater Savior who calmed the storm.

Jesus then asks His disciples:

Mark 4:40 CSB

40 Then he said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

The disciples were terrified, filled with great awe at what they had seen. They asked each other the question:

Mark 4:41 (CSB)

“Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”

When life feels out of control, remember who’s in control.

If there’s one thing I want you to take away from today’s chapel, it’s that when life feels out of control, remember who is in control.

Just like Psalm 103 and the theme of “Remembering” that you guys have been focusing on this school year, we have to remember who’s in control.

We can trust in Jesus because He really is in control.

Even when it doesn’t feel like it.

Even when it doesn’t seem like it.

He is in control.

I add the word “really” in that sentence because, often we say ‘God is in control!’ but we sometimes we question if that’s actually true.

After all: if you’re on a boat in the middle of a storm and the waves are crashing onto the boat, there’s a good reason to be concerned, right? I mean, where is God at in the midst of the storm?

Sometimes it can seem like God is nowhere to be found in the midst of the storms we face. It can feel like we are alone.

However, we have to remember that our feelings are fickle. They change every day, every hour, maybe even every minute. We may feel one way this moment, and another way the next.

How can we know for sure that Jesus really is in control?

We can turn to God’s Word. We don’t have to look any further than today’s story if we wanted!

You see, things got out of control there on the boat. The disciples felt it; they saw what was going on around them and knew it was out of their control. That their lives were in danger.

Jesus, on the other hand, was sleeping. He was resting. Why?

Because Jesus created the wind and the waves. He created the disciples. He created all things.

Jesus was in control of it all.

Even when it didn’t seem like it, Jesus never for a moment was not in control of that situation. He shows us that by simply speaking to the wind and sea, telling them to be silent and still, and immediately they were.

Who is this? The disciples asked. This was the Son of God. Not just a normal man. God Himself in the flesh.

If Jesus has the power to calm the storm with just the words from His mouth, we can be confident that He is really in control of all things.

Sovereign & Providence

There are two big words that come to mind that help us understand God’s power and control:

1. Sovereign

Think about a king, how no one is above him. He has all the power in the land. God is sovereign even over kings, queens, or any kind of ruler. He is sovereign over all.

This word simply means that God has all the power. There is no one more powerful than God. He is sovereign over all things. There is no one above Him. God can do whatever He wants; He has the power to do so.

2. Providence

This word is one of my favorites. Providence means that God is not only sovereign, but He has a wise purpose in His sovereignty. In other words, there is wisdom and purpose behind everything that God does.

If these two things are true…

We can be confident that Jesus really is in control of all things. Not only is He in control of all things, but there is no one more powerful than Him. And not only that, He is wise and purposeful in everything that He does.

Ourselves

Now let’s think about ourselves for a moment.

We all come in here today with different things going on in our lives.

Like some of the things I mentioned earlier, it could be anything, big or little, that make you feel like life is out of control.

Something as small as a traffic delay or something as large as losing someone we love.

In those moments, we feel out of control. We realize that we are simply humans, and although we may be in control of some things, we aren’t in control of all things.

We aren’t sovereign like God is.

We aren’t all powerful, all knowing, and providential in what we do.

This can be scary to us. We might even have a response similar to what the disciples said:

“Jesus! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?”

“Don’t you care about what’s going on?”

“Don’t you see that things are out of control?”

“Aren’t you going to do something about it?”

-

When life feels out of control, remember who is in control.

There’s a verse that I love, it’s found in Romans, and it says this:

Romans 8:28 CSB

28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

For those who love God, for those who have trusted in His Son, Jesus, ALL things work together for good.

Does that mean that everything will seem good on the outside?

Does that mean that life will be perfect, sunshine and rainbows all of the time?

No.

What it does mean is that ultimately, in the end, everything works out for our good. Even when it doesn’t feel like it.

God is working things for our good because He loves us.

After all, Jesus died for sinners like you and me. He showed us how much He loved us through his actions.

Close

You may be going through a difficult time in your family, with friends, at school, or just in life. And things can feel out of control, even as a 1st-6th grader. But, when life feels out of control, remember who is in control.

Jesus is in control.

The only one who has the power to silence the wind and sea by the words of His mouth is the one in control of your life.

That is something we can find true comfort in.

Jesus is with us, He is for us, and He is in control, even when life feels out of control.

Let’s pray.