Staying Calm in the Storm

Psalm

Psalm 77:13–14 NIV

13 Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? 14 You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.

Psalm 77:13–14 NIV

13 Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? 14 You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.

Last Wednesday, I told you that God is still in the miracle working business. he still heals and does things that are even beyond what we can imagine.

Miracles come in various ways. 35 recorded miracles.

Jesus Miracles

17 Bodily Healings

6 deliverances of Demon Possessed people

3 Raised from the dead

9 Miracles over nature

And that’s not even all he actually did.

John

John 21:25 NIV

25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

I want us to look at one of Jesus miracles over nature. It’s the story of Jesus calming the storm.

Mark

Mark 4:35–38 NIV

35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 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?”

Jesus declared we are going to the other side. When Jesus says something, it’s going to happen.

Some of us feel nearly swamped. Some are sick, others are out of work…

Then he speaks to the disciples before he speaks to the storm.

Matt

Matthew 8:26–27 NIV

26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. 27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

Their response was basically, they didn’t know him as well as they thought. You may have thought you knew Jesus better than you actually do… maybe you have been overcome with fear or anxiety…

In this story, there are three storms going on.

There are different kinds of storms in life

1. Physical Storms

The Corona Virus is REAL.

2. Emotional Storms

We lose patience and have conflict with each other. Many are filled with fear and anxiety.

Many are filled with fear and anxiety.

This is a time when little things can cause a bigger thing like conflict. Marriages and family relationships can be impacted by something that is actually … small.

The physical storm we are in can turn into an emotional storm, and we don’t want that to happen. But for many it’s turned into loss of patience… fear… family tension.

The disciples thought they would die, but Jesus had already said that they were going to the other side. Listen to me, we will make it to the other side.

3. Spiritual Storms

Then it can turn into a spiritual storm. The disciples said, don’t you care. IOW you don’t care.

Storms can reveal the depth of our relationship with God. The physical storm will be solved … I can’t do anything about that, but I can help you with the emotional and spiritual storms.

What is the miracle wasn’t the storm Jesus calmed on the outside, but the storm he calmed on the inside?

This is a great opportunity to grow stronger spiritually.

Here’s how to “Calm Your Soul”

Hebrews 6:19 NIV

19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,

anchor for your soul… why does our soul need an anchor. We can’t control the physical part of this storm, but we can control the storms in our soul and spirit.

An anchor has to grab something on the bottom for it to be effective. It has to attach itself to something solid so that it can anchor us.

In the middle of this storm, we can see miracles.

Three things that help us to be anchored.

1. We are anchored when we cultivate God’s presence.

We have to cultivate the presence of God. You have to decide to allow it to be real in your life.

Psalm 91:1–4 NIV

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” 3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

dwells - you have to hang out in the shelter of the most high. When you do, you will rest…

Use the First 15. Go to Faithlife and read the Bible verses on the reading list. Join us Easter Sunday. Make sure you have your own personal QT.

Peace isn’t the absence of trouble. Peace is the presence of God.

Peace is the presence of God.

2. We’re anchored when we remember God’s promise.

Jesus, whoever has built his house on a rock… will not fall.

Matthew 7:24–25 NLT

24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.

Psalm 119:

Psalm 119:81 NLT

81 I am worn out waiting for your rescue, but I have put my hope in your word.

Don’t watch more news than you are reading or watching the news.

Don’t let your circumstances speak louder than God’s Word.

3. We are anchored when we understand God’s process.

If the disciples would have known that Jesus was going to use the storm to teach them something, they would have reacted a diffeent way. If they had remembered that Jesus has already said they were goingto the othes side, they would not have been afraid.

Romans

Romans 5:2–4 NIV

2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.

You will be anchored it you hold on to the fact that you will be better after this is over than you were before.

Trouble doesn’t build character, it reveals it.

I know this has revealed a lot to many of us. Sometimes we look good on the outside but we were not ready on the inside. ILL - grill illustration.