"Facing The Storms Of Life" And when He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And He said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marvelled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” Matthew 8:23-27 How many of us can relate to the twelve disciples on the boat? Have you experienced storms in your life? Times when things just did not make sense. Times when our problems seemed big and faith seemed so small. Times when we feel scared that we are going to be taken over by the storms; insecure, afraid, and uncertain. We all have gone through such storms in life and some are going through them right now. It may be in your marriage, relationship, job, school, health, finances or whatever. Jesus & His disciples were no different. They went through storms. Thankfully, however, there is some good news for us from the word of God. While the storms of life are never pleasant, they do produce certain benefits in our lives that we would do well to make note of. ”Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby (Hebrews 12:11). There are several types of storms we are faced with: Spiritual Physical Persecution due to our belief Illness Class warfare Financial Marital Injustice and inequality Obstacles As you can see, storms are not just limited to one type. We must understand storms will definitely come for a child of God. The disciples were following Christ and they directly went into the storm. The disciples faced a physical storm but we may face a spiritual storm. Just because we have been saved and are following Christ does not mean that we will have no problems or storms in life. Now everything maybe going great but storms can come anytime, it just takes a split of a second. Maybe you lose your job, the phone rings and some bad news come in, you have a routine doctor visit and he tells you that you have a sickness that you have to battle with the rest of your life; In seconds your life is changed. Some storms are from God to keep us focused on him. I do not know what kind of storm you are facing this evening, but I do know that the Lord has a purpose in allowing that storm to rage in your life. Perhaps that purpose will become clear by the time you have completed this devotional… The very thing the disciples feared, the sea, was the very thing the Lord used as the vehicle to reveal Himself unto them. He will do the same in your life and mine. Notice how Jesus came to them that night. Hence, He will show up at any moment. He comes in the face of darkness. The Bible says that Jesus came to them in “the fourth watch” during the darkest hours of the night, Jesus came walking on the water! The question is, do you believe? Where is your faith? You may be walking in darkness this evening and wondering where Jesus is. You may be facing some of the darkest days of your life right now. Let me remind you that our God is ever with you, Hebrews 13:5. Let me remind you that even in the darkest hours of life God is still God and He is still in control of your life. 1 Kings 8:12, “Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.”; Psalm 139:11-12, “If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.” Even the darkest hours of life cannot hide you from the face of God. He is there even when you cannot see Him. The disciples were in a fight for their lives. That is, they were struggling against the storm. I get the impression that these men were afraid for their lives. When they thought all hope was gone and that they were doomed, Jesus came walking on the waves! There are times when we all feel like we have lost the battle with our storm, but may I remind you that just as surely as the Lord is in control of your blessings, He is also in charge of your storms? When things look bleak, just look around, Jesus is about to show up! Remember, He may not keep you from going into the storm, but He will keep you in the midst of the storm. He was not telling them that the storm was not fierce, He was telling them that He was greater than the storm! This is still His word today! Regardless of what you are facing in life, remember that Jesus is greater than that storm you may be facing. If you will be patient and wait for Him, He will show up right on time. God maybe slow, but he is never late. You will see that the storm was used by the Lord to make Himself clear to you. The very thing you fear will be the vehicle He uses to show up in your life. What I am trying to tell you is this: “Do not fear the storms of Life! They have been designed by the Lord as a means of bringing Him closer to you. He planned them and they are for your good - Romans 8:28 What you do during the storm reveals who you are. Where do you run for solving a problem? Is it a friend, neighbor, or do you seek godly counsel? The disciples went straight to Jesus. They woke him up, they never gave up. 1. Put your trust in God. We must have a never give up attitude with God. In your storms never give up your faith in God. Some people when problems come they give up their faith in God. They stop their prayer, going to church, reading the word etc., and hang their hands in despair. Those who hold on to God come out better and victorious. Storms will either draw you closer or draw you away from God. You will never be the same as you went in. Either you will be bitter with God or better with God after a storm, it depends on your attitude. 2. Keep Focused on God. In the times of problems it is easy to lose track of our goals and focus on our problems instead. Satan wants you to do that. He makes us lose sight of our goals and put other things around us. That is why we need to be focused on God. Storms will come and storms will go but understand Jesus remains the same. Following Christ you may face a storm, you may be in discomfort, fear, anger, or anxiety but do not abandon your ship because he is with you. In winter season it snows and it is cold and miserable inside but in the morning the sun rises and the temperature rises, the snow starts to melt and you are comfortable again. No matter what the problem is it will pass one day, have faith in God. *heart of worship*
Posted on: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 07:24:44 +0000
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