In the Storm
Matthew 14:22-32
August 4, 2013
Do you ever feel like life is cruising along. The family is healthy, work is good, retirement is good, friends are good, there’s no real stress in life. All seems really, really good. You feel good about life, no cares, no worries. Even the Cubs are winning.
Then, out of nowhere . . . it hits. It’s the absolutely most imperfect storm imaginable . . . and it’s your storm. You didn’t ask for it, you didn’t want it, but somehow, that storm found you. It didn’t ask for your permission, it didn’t ask if this was the right time. It just came like a guided missile with your name on it and it hit! BOOM!
Well, for the next few weeks we’re going to look at storms in life. We’re going to look at storms and our reaction from a couple of different angles to see how we can make it through those tough times.
You’ve been there before haven’t you? We look at the Lord and we cry out, “Lord, this is getting ridiculous.” Have you been there? Haven’t we all, at one time or another, felt that we had more than our fair share?
There’s the cartoon where Charlie Brown builds a beautiful sandcastle, works on it for hours. Finally he stands back, looks at it. It’s wonderful. Just as he’s singing and admiring it, a person comes up and knocks over his masterpiece. Now, he’s standing where his beautiful masterpiece was, on level sand, wondering, “I know there’s a lesson in this, but I’m not sure what it is.”
Every one of us has our sandcastles blown away. Every once in awhile we back up and say, “Why am I being hit with this storm of life?” And like Charlie Brown, we wonder, “I know there’s a lesson in this, but I’m not sure what it is.”
Sometimes these storms are caused by the devil, sometimes by other people, sometimes by us. Sometimes they’re allowed by the Lord. They come from different sources, but they do have a purpose in our life.
One of the most difficult things during a storm is to consider what does God want me to learn from this storm. With that in mind, I want to read from Matthew 14. It’s a wild and crazy time in Jesus’ life. He’s going through the highs and lows of living life, of living like you and I do. You see, Matthew 14 opens with the beheading of John the Baptist by Herod. Jesus was upset because if you remember, John was His cousin. They were the same age and most likely played quite a bit together when they were growing up. So, Jesus wants to withdraw to a quiet place, to reflect, to pray; but when He does, crowds followed Him and there were so many, that He began to heal people and we see the miracle of 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish feeding thousands of people.
This is what happens next ~
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds.
23 And after He had dismissed the crowds, Jesus went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone,
24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.
26 But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear.
27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
Since, we’re going to be looking at storms for a few weeks, we’ll take a look at Peter’s water walking adventure next week. What I really want to do today is look at the fact that storms occur in our lives.
You may be thinking, “Really! Tell me something I don’t know.” Yet, more often than not, we don’t think storms should hit us. We’re good people, we attend church, we read the Bible and pray and try to do good, we give our money, we give our time and serve. And yes, we’re sinners, but that’s why we have Jesus. So, we think — “this shouldn’t be happening to me!”
So, the first thing I want to tell you is that everyone has storms. In fact, for many of you, the storm clouds have already gathered, and you’re trying to figure out your game plan. For some of you, you may be in the worst storm of your life. And the reasons for our storms vary.
I want you to realize everyone has them; nobody is immune. In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 5 ~ 45 For God makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
The sun rises on the good and evil. It rains and waters the fields of those who do good and those who do wrong. Storms, problems, difficulties, trials – you pick the word – they come to all of us. There’s no exclusion. Just because you’re a Christ follower, doesn’t mean you’re going to be excluded from the storms of life.
Now, some storms come because we’re out of God’s will. An example of that, is Jonah. He deliberately disobeyed God’s direction. Because of that, God sent a great wind and storm on the boat, with Jonah ending up in the belly of a huge fish.
Another example is in 1 Corinthians 11 ~ when Paul was talking to the church about how they took communion in an unworthy manner and he wrote ~ “For this cause many are weak and sick among you, and many will die.”
A last example is in Acts 5. Ananias and Sapphira deliberately lied to God and the church concerning their giving, and they lost their life. It could be the storm you’re in right now is because of your disobedience. That’s just one possibility.
But some storms come because we’re in God’s will. Just because you’ve encountered a storm in your life, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re out of the will of God or you’re being punished.
In fact, in today’s passage, in verse 22, we read, Immediately Jesus MADE the disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds. In other words, the connotation of the word MADE, is that Jesus forced, or compelled with great urgency for the disciples to get into the boat. These guys were fisherman, and they were scared. That’s not good news. Jesus knew what was going to happen, and He wanted to see how they would react.
Here they are out in the midst of the storm, but Jesus is the one who put them in the boat. He’s the one that told them to get out in the middle of the lake. They’re right in the middle of God’s will but they’re having the storm of their life. And the thing is, when they left the shore, they had no clue storm clouds were brewing.
Another example is Job. God said this about Job ~ 1 Job was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. It would be great to have God say that about you and I, wouldn’t it. Nobody else in the Bible is described with these words.
Yet, we know all about the devastating losses, then the boils from head to toe that Job had to endure, as he sat on an ash heap. Had he sinned? Absolutely not; he was faithful. He was a great man in God’s sight and yet he was going through the storm of life.
Joseph was another example of a shining star in God’s kingdom. Yet we see Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers. He spends years in prison because he was slandered by the wife of Potiphar. Joseph is in the middle of a terrible storm, yet he’s in the center of God’s will.
The Apostle Paul went through a shipwreck, was imprisoned and was beaten. He died a martyr’s death. Yet he was a man of God, and a great leader in the early church. He’s in the center of God’s will. All I’m saying is that it’s possible for you to obey God, be faithful and walk in His ways, being right in the center of His will, yet at the same time encounter those terrible storms.
I wanted to share that with you because I know so many people who really love God and try to serve and obey Him, yet because of life’s uncertainties and sin, life gives them a tough blow. When we have that difficult time, we have to have our feet on the ground and understand that storms happen to people in the will of God as well as outside of His will.
We’re not going to go into more detail. But I want to end this message with the reassurance that no matter what you’ve gone through, are going through, or will go through - - - God has promised that He will not abandon you. He will not fail you, He will not forsake you.
In fact, we read in Hebrews 7, 23 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office;
24 but because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood.
25 Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.
Isn’t that great! Jesus lives to intercede for us. Friends, whatever your storm, Jesus is there. He has not given up on you. In fact, He may have something great just around the corner, you just need to get there.
Know He loves you and died for you. He has great plans for you, too. It’s a plan which may not make any sense to us, yet it’s a plan to bring good in our lives. As Jeremiah wrote, that the Lord declares ~ 11 For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ~Jeremiah 29:11
