There's Peace in the Journey

Introduction

If you grew up with a grandmother like mine when a storm came we couldn’t be on the phone and even the use of electricity was limited in which she would use a phrase “Let the Lord Do His Work”. As we progress in life sometimes we go through situations in life that are similar to a power outage and we just have to sit and wait for the power to come back on. Some storms, there’s nothing we can do but call and wait on God.

The Psalmist writes in the 107th Psalm, verse 23 through 25 and in verses 28 and 29.

Psalm 107:23–25“Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters, They see the works of the Lord, And His wonders in the deep. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea.”

Psalm 107:28–29“Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, So that its waves are still.”

When the storms of life arise in our life it can be debilitating. While we sail across the sea of life in a the best boat our life could afford it can be heartbreaking when we are faced with a storm or even a shipwreck. I will tell you today that those who know Jesus is in the midst are those who are at peace no matter what the storms of life look like. This narrative that is depicted in Mark as well as the synoptic gospels of Matthew and Luke illustrates that the journey with Jesus is not always going to be easy. Sometimes the storms you are going through have nothing to do with you making the right or wrong decisions sometimes storms are just a tool to increase your faith and dependability on Jesus Christ. In chapter 4 verse 35, we are connected to the beginning of this chapter helping us identify the fact that Jesus didn’t lead them into a storm unprepared. The bible says in verse 35 “on the same day, when everning had come” if you track back to verse 1 of chapter 4 you see the bible says “and again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him.

It’s also important that we understand that the storm happens in the middle of a journey to the other side in which the audience shifts from Jew to Gentile. As stated, storms are preparers. Sometimes we have to go through some things to serve on the other side.

Jesus Is Never to Far Away to Calm the Storm

Understand that in this journey of faith you are going to go through a few things. Understand and know that if you’re in midst of Jesus any storm you are facing can be calmed.

Mark’s account is the only account that discloses the fact that it wasn’t just a boat with Jesus and his disciples:

Mark 4:36 “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.”

These little boats didn’t have Jesus in the stern but they experienced his power. This shows us that our journey with Jesus happens in different ways. Everyone isn’t inside the the same boat as you, everyone’s journey to the other side isn’t the same as yours. Everyone’s job on the sea isn’t the same as yours but if I’m following Jesus I have an opportunity to experience his peace, and experience his power.

Mark 4:39 “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.”

Navigating a Storm When I can’t See the Shore

I had an opportunity to go fishing with Brother Mike Dailey, and when we got on the boat at the dock everything was fine. As we continued to sail the shore became less and less visible and eventually we could n longer see the shore. Similar to life often times when we can see or know exactly how to get to certain destinations we find our hearts at ease but some of the greatest journeys are ones that you don’t always see the finish line, or know how to get to the destination or even see the shore. The bible says it was evening, and if you know anything about the evening that means visibility is a little lower. So not only is it storming but the clouds are dark, the rain in pounding there is no shelter I can find and then the things that was suppose to protect me is being filled with water. See this isn’t just a little storm like one of those I’ll be alright tomorrow storms, the greek word for “windstorm” in this text means whirlwind, storm or more important the root word that means hurricane.

I’m talking to the people that have had to navigate some hurricanes this year and not ones where you could find some shelter and wait it out I’m talking about a storm in which there was no escape and you had to weather the storm.

“And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that is was already filling”.

I wonder what the people in the little boat were thinking? They didn’t have access to Jesus like those in the ship with Him. To all the Christians in the room we have to start living like we have access to Jesus. Sometimes in the midst of storms we get so discombobulated and act like we don’t know what prayer is, meanwhile Jesus is sleeping in the sterns of our life.

So they go to Jesus who was in the stern of the boat, typically the person in the stern was in control of the steering, the stern also keeps water out of the boat so that it does not sink. The stern typically housed the captain. The stern also was designed in effort to reduce resistance during travel. It makes sense that Jesus in the stern. Jesus is the captain of our life, Jesus decides which way we need to go. If the person in the stern is sleep and calm and they are in control of getting us to the destination why are we tripping when the weather of life gets bad?

Furthermore it wasn’t like some of his disciples weren’t acccustomed to being on the sea, some of his most heralded discples were fishermen. So when Jesus ask, “why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith”. He’s referring to the fact of why are we getting so bent out of shape when life isn’t going our way yet we say we trust in a God that created the same wind, waves and water that you are afraid of.

Friends and family I know you might be going through something and this might be a different storm but this is not your first storm and the same Jesus that brought you out of the last storm will bring you through this one. Don’t act brand new and even if you haven’t been through a storm I know you’ve witness what Jesus has done for others. This might have been the first miracle of nature in Jesus’ earthly ministry but God has been using nature especially water for a very long time! It was God that protected Noah from the flood, it was God that protected the Israelites when they reached the Red Sea, It was God that used the belly of a fish to protect Jonah from drowning after being tossed of the ship, it was God that protected Paul when they were shipwrecked! When this earth provides no refuge from the storm I know a God that can.

Where is Your Faith

When he ask where is your faith? It’s a valid question. Jesus had just taught a parable on the mustard seed, a parable on the growing seed, a parable of the lamp, a parable of the soils. All of these parables of nature which should tell us that faith has to be the priority. Life is similar to nature we can do all we desire and still not have true control of the outcome.

In order to truly serve in ministry you are going to have to learn how to navigate some storms. How can you encourage someone to hold to God’s unchanging hand if you’ve never been through a situation where God’s hand is the only one you can hold on to. Sometimes a storm puts us in positon to serve better than you’ve ever served. In order to work sometimes you’ve got to go through some things.

Do You Trust in Jesus?

Jesus sleeping in the midst of the storm is him living by example. It’s also a testament to the fact that even in the storm Jesus trusted God to see them through the storm.

The miracle was quite fascinating, it’s truly a fulfillment of prophecy and power. Psalm 65:7 “You who still the noise of the seas, The noise of their waves, And the tumult of the peoples.”

Jesus rebuked the wind as if it was a demon. The same word for rebuke is used in Mark 1:25

Mark 1:25 “But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”” We are thankful for the power of Jesus but it’s a lesson that fear and faith cannot co-exist. A lot of times we are living in fear because we really don’t know Jesus like we say we do. Similar to their response of Jesus calming the winds and the waves, “And they fear exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and sea obey Him”.

Sometimes we treat faith like a fire exstinguisher, we don’t even realize it’s a need until it’s an emergency. We have to stop living life in a way that we only look for Jesus when the storms arise. It’s time that we awaken the Christ that’s asleep in some of us.

We scramble out of fear! Life has beat some of us up, the problem persist when we only reach out to Jesus when the storm gets a little too tough for us to navigate through. Don’t forget his presence when things are good and only wake Jesus up when a storm comes that you can’t navigate.

TRUST IN JESUS! Don’t allow a storm to be the sole reason you trust Him. Don’t reduce Jesus to miracles! Praise Him even when life is going well.

A lot can change in one evening