There is a reason for every problem and there is a solution to every problem. Problems are a part of life and result from the storms we encounter in life. God does not promise the believer a storm free experience. 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 Son, Jesus Christ. The solution is to know Him, trust Him, believe His promises and rely on Him. There is a vast difference between knowing Christ and knowing about Christ. The ones who know Christ trust Him enough to keep their focus on Him and believe in His deliverance during the storm whereas those who only know about Him, rather focus on the storm and the destruction that comes with it. Unfortunately, many people today know about Christ but only a few know Him. The ones who know Christ value his presence and nurture their relationship with Him. Can only knowing about Christ not possibly be the reason why many people today believe anything they are told rather than believe the Word of God? Many people have fallen prey to false teachers and no longer focus on Christ and His promises nor believe that Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace and the source of peace in their personal storms.
Storms are inevitable in life and some people are facing a storm at this very moment. Many storms are a result of bad choices, addictions, family breakups and the loss of loved ones. These storms often lead to financial problems and the inability to provide basic needs such as food, shelter, and health. The weakest storms can have devastating effects on the strongest people. Every storm that is not dealt with, will end up destroying the quality of life of individuals, families and communities. Unfortunately, instead of dealing with the storms in our lives, many people only try to accommodate them. The solution to the storms in our lives is found in Jesus Christ, the Word of God. To be honest with ourselves many of us either do not know Jesus Christ nor believe His promises. As “Christians” we often affirm our faith in Christ but live as unbelievers. We often change God’s Word and interpret it our own way to serve our 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? It is because false teachers teach what the people want to hear and what they desire to do. However, what they hear and are told to do does not glorify Christ and rather proves 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.
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 live by faith, exercise their authority and proclaim the Word of God to overcome the enemy. The storms of life are not to destroy the believer but to give him an opportunity to glorify God. Are you facing a storm in your life? For the 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. No matter the storm, the believer can have victory because of the victory of Christ over our enemy, the devil. It is a testimony that Christ has defeated the devil and stripped him of his power. The grace of God has made available to believers every promise of God and no matter the storm we are identified as God’s children and have access to His presence and provisions.
Jesus Christ faced many challenges in His life but He was always victorious because He was not only a man was also God. In today’s gospel reading, after a long day of teaching and deliverance, Jesus told His disciples to sail to the opposite shore. Since He was also a man, He was tired and 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 Christ had spoken. The storm was fierce enough to make seasoned fishermen afraid but Jesus Christ remained in control. He dealt with their fear by commanding the wind and the storm to be still. If only the disciples had not been afraid and not 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. Why do we still allow fear, doubt, and unbelief to control our lives even after we have trusted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour?
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 our lives. 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 after His Father had openly declared “this is my beloved Son”. Satan conveniently left out the word “beloved” when he said to Him “if you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread?” He failed with Jesus but is still trying to get Jesus’ disciples to doubt the Word of God.
Our reaction to the storms of life should be like the reaction of an eagle facing a storm. The eagle, a symbol of our Church, never hides 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. 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 to the praise and glory of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
