Recently, I've received many calls, emails, and have had conversations with many people who are going through storms. I've experienced a few myself, as well. I realize that we all know where and Who to turn to when storms arise, but I also realize that there may be times throughout our storms that we need to be reminded and encouraged of these things. One of the most beautiful passages we can learn from (as well as be encouraged by) is the account of the physical storm the disciples faced in Mark 4. Let's take a look...
(Mark 4:35-36) "And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships."
Look at the phrase in verse 35, "...he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side." Christ sent them across the sea, knowing full well they would encounter the storm. In essence, He directed them toward the storm! When facing storms, we have to realize that they are not in our life by accident. Christ is in complete control. He directs us towards storms. He allows them in our life.
These next two phrases should be more comforting. In verse 34, "Let us pass over unto the other side" and in verse 36, "he was in the ship" (in verse 36). Christ said, "Let us pass over." He was in the ship with them! The comforting truth: God is with you in the storm! He will never allow you to go to places that He Himself is not willing nor able to go! He never sends you in alone! Sometimes it may be hard to see Him. Sometimes we may wonder whether or not He is there. In Hebrews 13:5, He says, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Also, in Isaiah 41:10 He says, "Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." When storms arise, take comfort and find solace that Christ is there with you!
Look at that phrase again, in verse 35, "Let us pass over unto the other side." I don't think the disciples caught this, but right there Christ was promising that were going to get to the other side! That means (no matter what storms would arise) they were going to make it to the other side! Remember, just as storms start, eventually they also stop. Some storms last longer and may be fiercer than others. Remember "the other side". Christ promises the other side. He promises an escape from storms. 1 Corinthians 10:13, "There hath no temptation (trials, adversities, afflictions, troubles, storms ) taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Do not forget, there is "the other side" of the storm. Eventually you will make it though. Christ has promised to bring you to "the other side".
One other truth I see, in verse 36, "And there were also with him other little ships." Remember, you do not face storms alone. Remember what we saw in 1 Corinthians 10:13, "There hath no temptation (trials, adversities, afflictions, troubles, storms ) taken you but such as is common to man:" Not only is Christ in your ship, there are other people around you that are facing the same or similar storms as well. Be mindful of those who are facing storms. Reach out to them to find comfort and give comfort. You are never alone.
(Mark 4:37) "And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full."
The "perfect storms" in our life would be the ones where the boat gets tossed a little and we make it through dry and without any bruises. If those types of storms do exist, they are very rare. We need to remember a few things...
1) Storms will be bad. The verse calls the storm "great". It was a huge storm.
2) The phrase "the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full" indicates to us that our ship may get beat up; it may get full of water; we may get wet. But consider this...
3) The ship never sank! Lamentations 3:22-23, "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Your ship may get beat up and full of water, and (at times) all hope may seem lost; but God has promised that we will not be consumed by the storms!
(Mark 4:38) "And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?"
Sometimes, we will convince ourselves that Jesus is asleep, that He is not aware of our storm, or that He does not care "that we perish". We need to convince ourselves otherwise. While Jesus was on this earth, the "human part" of Him needed rest and was asleep; but the "God part" of Him was awake and very aware of what was going on. Psalm 121:3-4 says, "He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." Our Lord never sleeps, and He does care whether or not we perish. Do not be discouraged if He's taking longer to calm the storm than you think He should. He is awake. He does care. Remember, He may allow your ship to get beaten and full of water; but He will not let your ship sink. You will not be consumed. You will make it to the other side.
Also, even though the disciples questioned whether or not Christ cared about their condition, they did call out to Christ in the midst of the storm. Jeremiah 33:2-3 says, "Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD [is] his name; Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." Do not forget to call out to Christ for help!
(Mark 4:39) "And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm."
Remember, in Christ's time and in His way, He can and will rebuke the wind and bring a great calm. Sometimes this takes a little patience on our part. Unfortunately, we see two things in the next verse that will often cloud our minds and keep us from remembering and clinging to His power and promises.
(Mark 4:40) "And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?"
The two things that often get in our way are fearfulness and faithlessness. Do not beat yourself up. As long as we are human, we will forever be struggling with fear and faith.
1) Fear. Unhealthy fear of things around us can shut us down quick and stop us dead in our tracks. In order to control and conquer unhealthy fears of anything around us, we must develop and maintain a healthy fear of our Lord. Not a trembling fear, but a reverential and loving fear that only comes by spending more time with Him and getting to know Him more; leaning upon His strength to overcome those fears that cloud our mind and keep us from remembering and clinging to His power and promises.
2) Faith. This is taking what we know of our Lord in our minds and convincing our hearts that it is truth. Remember that we can simply put our faith, trust, dependance, reliance upon the God Who is in our ship no matter how huge the storms may get. Simply having that faith that He allowed the storm and that storms do end. Even though your ship gets beaten and full of water, He will not allow you to be consumed. He is not asleep. He does care. You can call upon Him and in His time and in His way the storm will cease and He will bring a calm. I love what Charles Spurgeon says about faith: "The Christian man does with faith what a man can never do himself. While the poor understanding is climbing up the craigs, faith stands on the summit; while the poor understanding is getting into a calm atmosphere, faith flies aloft and mounts higher than the storm, and then looks down on the valley, and smiles while the tempest blows beneath its feet."
(Mark 4:41) "And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"
As we mentioned before Christ can and will calm the storm - in His own time and in His own way. The question is:
Why does Christ allow storms?
In this passage alone, we see a few reasons:
1) To see Him - to believe and observe His presence, His power, His promises, His protection. Consider Psalm 107 (verses 23-31 and 42-43) "They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep." How do they see the works of the Lord? Read the next few verses: "For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. Oh that [men] would praise the LORD [for] his goodness, and [for] his wonderful works to the children of men!" A few verse later, He says, "The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth. Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD." The disciples definitely saw Christ's power and protection that day. Why does God allow storms? So that we may see Him - to believe and observe His presence, His power, His promises, His protection.
2) To know Him - to be assured that He loves us and cares for us. We just read in Psalm 107 that those who observe the storms will "understand the lovingkindness of the Lord". Not only see it, but understand it - know it. Why does God allow storms? So that we may know Him - to be assured that He loves us and cares for us.
3) To be drawn to Him - to strengthen our faith and calm our fears. Again, we just read in Psalm 107 that those who face storms will "cry unto the LORD in their trouble". It goes on to say, "he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven." The storm drew the disciples to Christ - they ran to Him for help. Their faith was strengthened and Christ calmed their fears. Why does God allow storms? So that we may be drawn to Him - that our faith may be strengthened and our fears be calmed.
May God give you grace and strength to brave the storms you may be going through. May you see Him, know Him, and be drawn to Him during this time. If I can be of any assistance, please feel free to contact me.
(Mark 4:35-36) "And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships."
Look at the phrase in verse 35, "...he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side." Christ sent them across the sea, knowing full well they would encounter the storm. In essence, He directed them toward the storm! When facing storms, we have to realize that they are not in our life by accident. Christ is in complete control. He directs us towards storms. He allows them in our life.
These next two phrases should be more comforting. In verse 34, "Let us pass over unto the other side" and in verse 36, "he was in the ship" (in verse 36). Christ said, "Let us pass over." He was in the ship with them! The comforting truth: God is with you in the storm! He will never allow you to go to places that He Himself is not willing nor able to go! He never sends you in alone! Sometimes it may be hard to see Him. Sometimes we may wonder whether or not He is there. In Hebrews 13:5, He says, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Also, in Isaiah 41:10 He says, "Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." When storms arise, take comfort and find solace that Christ is there with you!
Look at that phrase again, in verse 35, "Let us pass over unto the other side." I don't think the disciples caught this, but right there Christ was promising that were going to get to the other side! That means (no matter what storms would arise) they were going to make it to the other side! Remember, just as storms start, eventually they also stop. Some storms last longer and may be fiercer than others. Remember "the other side". Christ promises the other side. He promises an escape from storms. 1 Corinthians 10:13, "There hath no temptation (trials, adversities, afflictions, troubles, storms ) taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Do not forget, there is "the other side" of the storm. Eventually you will make it though. Christ has promised to bring you to "the other side".
One other truth I see, in verse 36, "And there were also with him other little ships." Remember, you do not face storms alone. Remember what we saw in 1 Corinthians 10:13, "There hath no temptation (trials, adversities, afflictions, troubles, storms ) taken you but such as is common to man:" Not only is Christ in your ship, there are other people around you that are facing the same or similar storms as well. Be mindful of those who are facing storms. Reach out to them to find comfort and give comfort. You are never alone.
(Mark 4:37) "And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full."
The "perfect storms" in our life would be the ones where the boat gets tossed a little and we make it through dry and without any bruises. If those types of storms do exist, they are very rare. We need to remember a few things...
1) Storms will be bad. The verse calls the storm "great". It was a huge storm.
2) The phrase "the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full" indicates to us that our ship may get beat up; it may get full of water; we may get wet. But consider this...
3) The ship never sank! Lamentations 3:22-23, "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Your ship may get beat up and full of water, and (at times) all hope may seem lost; but God has promised that we will not be consumed by the storms!
(Mark 4:38) "And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?"
Sometimes, we will convince ourselves that Jesus is asleep, that He is not aware of our storm, or that He does not care "that we perish". We need to convince ourselves otherwise. While Jesus was on this earth, the "human part" of Him needed rest and was asleep; but the "God part" of Him was awake and very aware of what was going on. Psalm 121:3-4 says, "He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." Our Lord never sleeps, and He does care whether or not we perish. Do not be discouraged if He's taking longer to calm the storm than you think He should. He is awake. He does care. Remember, He may allow your ship to get beaten and full of water; but He will not let your ship sink. You will not be consumed. You will make it to the other side.
Also, even though the disciples questioned whether or not Christ cared about their condition, they did call out to Christ in the midst of the storm. Jeremiah 33:2-3 says, "Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD [is] his name; Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." Do not forget to call out to Christ for help!
(Mark 4:39) "And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm."
Remember, in Christ's time and in His way, He can and will rebuke the wind and bring a great calm. Sometimes this takes a little patience on our part. Unfortunately, we see two things in the next verse that will often cloud our minds and keep us from remembering and clinging to His power and promises.
(Mark 4:40) "And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?"
The two things that often get in our way are fearfulness and faithlessness. Do not beat yourself up. As long as we are human, we will forever be struggling with fear and faith.
1) Fear. Unhealthy fear of things around us can shut us down quick and stop us dead in our tracks. In order to control and conquer unhealthy fears of anything around us, we must develop and maintain a healthy fear of our Lord. Not a trembling fear, but a reverential and loving fear that only comes by spending more time with Him and getting to know Him more; leaning upon His strength to overcome those fears that cloud our mind and keep us from remembering and clinging to His power and promises.
2) Faith. This is taking what we know of our Lord in our minds and convincing our hearts that it is truth. Remember that we can simply put our faith, trust, dependance, reliance upon the God Who is in our ship no matter how huge the storms may get. Simply having that faith that He allowed the storm and that storms do end. Even though your ship gets beaten and full of water, He will not allow you to be consumed. He is not asleep. He does care. You can call upon Him and in His time and in His way the storm will cease and He will bring a calm. I love what Charles Spurgeon says about faith: "The Christian man does with faith what a man can never do himself. While the poor understanding is climbing up the craigs, faith stands on the summit; while the poor understanding is getting into a calm atmosphere, faith flies aloft and mounts higher than the storm, and then looks down on the valley, and smiles while the tempest blows beneath its feet."
(Mark 4:41) "And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"
As we mentioned before Christ can and will calm the storm - in His own time and in His own way. The question is:
Why does Christ allow storms?
In this passage alone, we see a few reasons:
1) To see Him - to believe and observe His presence, His power, His promises, His protection. Consider Psalm 107 (verses 23-31 and 42-43) "They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep." How do they see the works of the Lord? Read the next few verses: "For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. Oh that [men] would praise the LORD [for] his goodness, and [for] his wonderful works to the children of men!" A few verse later, He says, "The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth. Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD." The disciples definitely saw Christ's power and protection that day. Why does God allow storms? So that we may see Him - to believe and observe His presence, His power, His promises, His protection.
2) To know Him - to be assured that He loves us and cares for us. We just read in Psalm 107 that those who observe the storms will "understand the lovingkindness of the Lord". Not only see it, but understand it - know it. Why does God allow storms? So that we may know Him - to be assured that He loves us and cares for us.
3) To be drawn to Him - to strengthen our faith and calm our fears. Again, we just read in Psalm 107 that those who face storms will "cry unto the LORD in their trouble". It goes on to say, "he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven." The storm drew the disciples to Christ - they ran to Him for help. Their faith was strengthened and Christ calmed their fears. Why does God allow storms? So that we may be drawn to Him - that our faith may be strengthened and our fears be calmed.
May God give you grace and strength to brave the storms you may be going through. May you see Him, know Him, and be drawn to Him during this time. If I can be of any assistance, please feel free to contact me.
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