Introduction:
There is a reason and there is a solution for every problem. A problem only remains a problem if you refuse the help you need to solve it. You do not drown because you fall into water, you drown because you refuse the help to get you out. Storms are a part of life and they create problems for everyone, both the believer and the unbeliever. God does not promise the believer a storm free experience through life. What He promises is His presence in the storm and His deliverance from the storm. God’s solution to the storms we face in life is found in His Word. It is to know Him, believe His promises and walk in His victory. There is a difference between knowing Christ and knowing about Him. The ones who know Christ trust Him and keep their focus on Him and His deliverance during the storm whereas those who only know about Him rather focus on the storm. Today many people know about Christ but only a few know Him. The ones who know Christ are the ones who have a relationship with Him. Can this not be the reason why many so-called Christians today believe anything they are told rather than believe the Word of God? Many “Christians” have fallen prey to idolatry and unbelief and no longer focus on Christ and His promises nor believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord over their storms.
Step One: Storms are inevitable
a) Due to addiction to drugs and alcohol
The storms we face in life are inevitable just as the storms at sea. There is nobody in the world that has never faced a storm in his/her life. Some people are facing a storm at this very moment. Many storms are a result of bad choices. There are storms that result from various addictions such as addictions to sex, drugs and alcohol, storms that result from family breakups and the loss of loved ones.
b) Due to sickness and disease
There are storms that result from lifestyle choices and preferences leading to sickness, disease, mental illness and other health issues. There are storms that result from carelessness and accidents leading to various forms of injury, pain and incapacitation.
c) Due to financial difficulties
There are also storms that result from financial difficulties. The inability to provide basic needs such as health, food and shelter can have devastating effects on the best relationships.
Illustration:
Storms are inevitable and if they are not overcome will end up destroying the quality of the life of individuals, families and communities. Unfortunately, instead of overcoming them many people try to accommodate them. The solution to the storms in our lives is found in the Word of God. To be honest with ourselves many of us do not know the Word of God or how to apply it. As Christians we often affirm our belief in Christ but live as unbelievers. Some of our “so called” teachers change God’s Word and interpret it their own way to serve their own interests. According to one theologian to change the Word of God is to change the God of the message and this is idolatry. We have quickly forgotten that the first person to change the word of God to suit his own interests was Satan and that believing him cost Adam and Eve their lives, God’s presence and their home in the Garden of Eden. Today Satan has many followers who serve him by changing the Word of God and deceiving the people. Why do many people blindly follow them and believe everything they say rather than what God says? Why is it that we do not question what they say but rather question what God says?
Application:
Many people are being deceived by false teachers that their desires can be met by what they do or what their leaders tell them to do. However, what they are told to do does not glorify Christ and is rather proof that they have rejected Christ and become slaves of Satan. Jesus Christ is the only One who can truly meet all our needs and whatever He tells us to do is for His glory.
Step Two: Storms present opportunities
a) An opportunity to proclaim the Word of God
In the course of our lives there are many storms that will come up that present believers with great opportunities. Most storms are orchestrated by evil forces with the aim to steal, kill and destroy. The believer however, should see such storms as challenges that present them with the opportunity to proclaim the Word of God and overcome the enemy.
b) An opportunity to exercise our authority
Storms present believers with the opportunity to exercise their authority. After the proclamation of God’s Word, words that are spirit and life, we praise God for destroying the work of the enemy, and exercise the authority that Christ has given us over all the power of the enemy so that nothing will be able to hurt us. (Luke 10:19)
c) An opportunity to live by faith
Storms present believers with the opportunity to live by faith and overcome the world. (1John 5:4) Faith takes hold of what the grace of Christ has provided and Christ has provided all our needs.
Illustration:
God has given man authority on earth and will not do anything here without a man to work with. The storms of life are not to destroy the believer but to give him an opportunity to glorify God. David was a man after God’s own heart. (Act 13:22) The battles he faced as a shepherd became his credentials for the fight against Goliath. David knew the source of his victory over the lion and the bear and Goliath was God. He only served as God’s instrument to reveal the devils defeat in the physical realm. The storms we face in life are spiritual and therefore are fought in the spiritual realm. Goliath fought in the name of his gods while David fought “in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel. (1Sa 17:45) “The battle is the LORD's”, (1Sa 17:47) and believers are to establish His victory on earth and walk in it. The battle was won in the spiritual realm and all that David needed to establish it on the field of battle was a single stone. The reason David chose five smooth stones from the brook was not to have four more in reserve in case he missed with the first stone but because Goliath had four other brothers.
Application:
Are you facing a storm in your life? As a believer the battle is the Lord’s. We can either establish God’s victory over the enemy and walk in victory or walk away defeated. God gave the Israelites the Promised Land. At the first attempt instead of establishing God’s victory by victoriously entering the promised land, they walked away and wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Let us proclaim His Word declaring His victory over our enemies, establish God’s victory in our lives as we exercise our Christ given authority.
Step Three: Storms are a reason to celebrate
a) Celebrate the victory of Jesus Christ
The storms we face in life are a reason for believers to celebrate. No matter the storm the believer can walk in victory because of the victory of Christ over our enemy, the devil. The celebration of our victory over the storm is a testimony that Christ has defeated the devil and stripped of his power.
b) Celebrate the grace of God
The storms we face in life are a reason to celebrate the grace of God. We overcome the storms in our lives because of the grace of God. The grace of God has made available to believers all that was available to Christ and no matter the storm we can celebrate our righteousness, our identity as God’s children and our access to His presence and provisions.
c) Celebrate the promises of God
The storms we face in life are a reason to celebrate the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit and the promises of God. He gives us the assurance that He will never leave or forsake us and that He will teach us and remind us of the promises of God.
Illustration:
Christ faced many challenges in His life as a man but He was always victorious because He had no sin nature. He was tempted in all ways as we are yet remained without sin. He believed His Father totally and trusted Him to fulfil His promises. Our victory over the storms in our lives also depend on our belief and trust in Christ to fulfil His promises. In today’s gospel reading, after a long day of teaching and deliverance, Jesus gave told His disciples to sail to the opposite shore and since He was tired he went to sleep. While Jesus slept, the devil tried to frustrate the efforts of His disciples and prevent them from reaching their destination where a demonised man needed deliverance. The only way he could succeed was to fill them with fear and make them doubt the Word of God. The storm was fierce enough to make seasoned fishermen afraid but Jesus Christ remained in control. He dealt with their fear by commanding the storm to be still. If only the disciples had not been afraid and doubted the Word of Christ they could also have slept through the storm. The real problem with the disciples was not the wind and the storm but fear, doubt and unbelief.
Application:
The greatest hindrance to the fulfilment of God’s promises in our lives is fear and unbelief. Why do we still allow fear and unbelief to control our lives after we have believed and trusted Christ as our Lord and Saviour?
Conclusion:
The question Jesus Christ asked His disciples is the same question He is asking us today. “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mar 4:40) Faith is God’s provision to overcome the storms of life that threaten to overwhelm or destroy us. The storms of life are fought from within since their purpose is to get us doubt the word of God. The devil tried it in the wilderness with Jesus when he said “if you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread?” He is still trying to get Jesus’ disciples to doubt the Word of God even though “God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2Ti 1:7) The eagle, a symbol of our Church, never runs away from the storm. It faces the storm perched on a rock and opens its wings at the right time so that the winds driving the storm can lift it above the storm. The eagle attains its greatest heights during the fiercest storms.
Personal Response:
When we stand on the rock of our salvation and believe His words, the storms of life will lift us above every obstacle preventing us from attaining our full potential in Christ so that we also become “As He is in this world” (1 John 4:17) to the praise and glory of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
