God is bigger than the storm

Introduction:

You know growing up, and spending most of my life in Texas, and more specifically the Gulf Coast, I’ve learned a few things. — I’ve learned that brisket could be it’s own food group, I’ve learned that construction (especially construction on highways) never actually ends, but I’ve also learned that the storms we get near the gulf coast are seriously no joke!

I don’t just mean the hurricanes either (although those are seriously intense), but I’ve lived in a few different states and whenever we get a bad thunderstorm, it’s just different. —

One of these storms really just sticks out in my memory. It was back when I was in high school. I was driving into downtown for work. It was a partly cloudy day, but almost out of nowhere the sky turned almost black. The thunder began to roar—flashes of lightning began to light up the sky. Then the sky opened up and heavy rainfall came down on the earth below. My windshield wipers were turned up as fast as they could go but I still couldn’t see the road in front of me. I remember my captivation with the strength of the storm quickly became fear as I couldn’t see the road and the hard winds pushing the sides of the Jeep made it difficult to keep driving in a straight line.

When we face intense storms in life, it can feel really scary. It can feel hopeless when we have to face the severity of the elements. — But in life, the storms are not always thunder and lightning. The storms we experience are uncertainty, doubt, anxiety, stress, or fear.

Sometimes the storms are so strong that it feels like the ground we are standing on is shaking below us. —Even the disciples who literally walking with Jesus faced a storm… and it terrified them! So lets see what happened and Let’s take a look at Mark 4:35-41

Mark 4:35–41 NIV

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

There are not many things we know with absolute certainty. But we do know that storms will come—we know the ground will shake—our fear in these moments are real… But we know this with certainty— Our God is greater than any storm we could ever face!

Now here is the thing about storms. They have a tendency to test our faith and test the things we believe in!

— Peter, Andrew, James, and John were professional fishermen, and there were other experienced fishermen among the disciples. —yet when the storms hits them… they panic. — They cry out to Jesus “TEACHER, DON’T YOU CARE IF YOU DROWN!?”

— You see what is so often at the core of fear, is the doubt of God’s care.

When life gets chaotic and the storm hits, we often cry out “GOD, DON’T YOU CARE? — DON’T YOU CARE THAT I AM HURTING!?”

— Fear has a way of disguising itself in the form of accusations. When life get’s really hard and things get chaotic it might feel really easy to say “God, if you really loved me, why don’t you fix this? Why don’t you take this away?”

— This is what the disciples were saying— “Don’t you care if we drown?”

But notice, they went to Jesus. They said “Teacher, don’t you care...” — their cry in the middle of the storm is by no means a model of perfect trust. They are not praying with calm assurance. They panic. They accuse. They sound a lot like us when we cry out in the middle of our storms.

“Teacher, don’t you care?” — That’s not polished and perfected faith, but it’s real. — And even though their faith is imperfect… it still turns them toward Jesus. Even though it is not polished, it brings them closer to Jesus! —It’s not the strength of our faith in the storm that saves us.. it’s who our faith is in that saves us. Because even a trembling hand can tightly cling to a strong and mighty savior!

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Now the storms we face in life have a way of exposing our weaknesses. In these storms it becomes glaringly obvious that we are unable to get through them on our own. — And it’s in these moments when we are so aware of our weakness where Jesus shows us his perfect strength.

Because Jesus shows a strength that is greater than simply surviving the storm, Jesus shows a strength that commands the storm. — lets look at Mark 4:39-40

Mark 4:39–40 NIV

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Jesus wakes up and speaks three simple words “Quiet! Be Still” and nature instantly obeys.

The same storm that had the disciples trembling with fear bowed down at the voice of Jesus. — Because the same voice that said “Let there be light” in Genesis 1 was now saying “Quiet! Be Still” — This was not merely a miraculous event performed this was nature bowing down to its creator!

And Jesus does not just stop with the storms on the outside. (the wind and the rain. The Thunder and the lightning.) But he also calms the storms on the inside!

— He says “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” — And He’s not scolding them… He’s inviting them to grow! — He is saying “You have seen my power—will you trust my presence?”

Because even though the wind was howling, the rain poured down, and the waves tossed their boat side to side, that was not the biggest storm that night. The biggest storm was inside of them— it was the fear, the anxiety, the doubt…

Although the storm on the outside tossed their boat around, they were safe all along… Because Jesus was in the boat with them!! — — But their fear caused them to forget his presence… It caused them to forget who it was that was in the boat with them…

Our peace does not depend on smooth sailing or calm circumstances. This is because our peace comes from a confident understanding that Christ is with us!

Jesus does not just rescue from the storm— He rescues us from the fear that controls us! Jesus says “Quiet! Be Still” and speaks peace to our guilt, to our shame, to our anxiety. — He replaces fear with faith, and he replaces restlessness with trust.

When we are in the middle of the storm and we turn to Jesus, when His grace enters our lives, we are made new! We are forgiven, secured, and we can be at peace with God!

This peace, isn’t just about feeling better. The peace Jesus provides is not just about the absence of trouble its knowing we are in the presence of our savior in the middle of the storm. — John 14:27 says:

John 14:27 NIV

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

—> The world tries to tell us that peace is what we experience when the waves stop… Jesus says peace it what comes when he speaks and Peace is what comes when he is with us!

— Maybe the storm in your life hasn’t stopped yet. Maybe you are fully in the middle of your uncertainty, or your grief— But Jesus is with you. Jesus has the authority to speak peace into your heart!

—> When we remember who is with us in the boat, there is no wave strong enough to sink us.

After Jesus speaks and the storm around the boat goes quiet, the disciples’ fear turns into awe and amazement — They ask “Who is this, that even the wind and the waves obey him?”—The scripture says they were terrified when they asked this question… but its not the same fear that they felt as their boat violently rocked in the storm— it’s a reverence. It’s the recognition that they are in the presence of something—of someone that is far greater than they could have ever imagined!

— In the middle of the chaos. In the middle of the storm, the disciples discovered who Jesus is. They discovered the person in the boat with them was the Lord of all the creation.

— You see, in the middle of every storm, there is an opportunity to know God more deeply. —

— Sometimes I think about the storm that I was driving through. I remember barely being able to see the road, and the death grip I had on the steering wheel as the wind pushed me side to side. I remember the relief I felt when the wind and rain had died down. — but the real peace was not because the storm had ended, the real peace came from realizing I was not alone in the storm!

Storms are coming. We know this… The wind will howl, the rain will pour down. But our God is greater than the storm!

When the storm dies down we can say I saw my God in the storm—working, calming...bringing us peace!

Maybe the storms your facing today is uncertainty about the future. Maybe it’s the pain and ache from experiencing a loss, or the weight of anxiety. — Whatever the storm is, Hear the good news: Jesus is in the boat with you! —

— He has not left you. He is greater than the wind and the waves. He is greater than the fear and doubt!

So today— whatever storm you are walking through—bring it to the one who says : “Be still” —He is greater than the storm— He is with us…

— Let’s pray:

Gracious God,

we thank you for your presence in the middle of the storms in our life. Open our eyes to your presence and your glory when we feel that the ground beneath us is shaking and remind us that you are greater. We are safe with you God. Lord thank you for the peace that can only come from you. You are greater…

We love you Lord, In the Holy name of Jesus we pray, Amen.