Psalm 91: Find Rest In The Shadow Of The Almighty. Series

And this leads us to the last truth I want to show you out of this passage.

OUR LIVES CANNOT BE DESTROYED BY EARTH’S WIND AND WAVES, SINCE OUR SOULS ARE SUSTAINED BY GOD’S PROMISES AND POWER

Jesus could sleep in the storm. Jesus’ mission could not be destroyed by earth’s wind and waves since His life was sustained by His Father’s promise and power. Jesus’ disciples had to learn that the storms could not destroy the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. This is why Jesus scolded them before calming the sea. The Savior asleep in the stern while the saints were afraid in the storm was a call for us to rest in His sovereign grace.

Bonhoeffer wrote of the German Church’s weakness during the storms of Adolph Hitler’s reign of terror: He said, “We have been silent witnesses of evil deeds: we have been drenched by many storms; we have learnt the arts of evasion and pretence; experience has made us suspicious of others and kept us from being truthful and open; intolerable conflicts have worn us down and even made us cynical. Are we still of any use?”

Sometimes I have fought the storms to learn that they are more powerful than I am. I too learn to pretend to have faith in the storm. And then it must be asked, “Am I still of any use?”

But God used Bonhoeffer in his storms. Christ in the stern, resting quietly, and calling us to rest in Him, reminds me that storms can bring fear or fresh faith.

It is about to be hurricane season again for those living in the South, on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. I thought of them this week. I remember August 24th, 1992. That was when Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida. I will never forget the scenes that came through our TV sets when that great storm began to bear down on the cities and towns in its path; and the winds were whipping through the streets, and the trees were snapping, and the lights went out, and people huddled together in any place that appeared safe. After the storm had moved up the coast they interviewed a man who slept through the whole thing. The well-rested man said that when he woke up the worst of it was over. His wife greeted her husband a little sarcastically and it reminded me of Alice Cramdon talking to Ralph on the Honeymooners, “Well, Bob you just slept through the greatest natural disaster to ever hit North America.” And do you know what his reply was? He said, “Well, ‘Shirley girl’, a good conscience makes for a good night’s sleep.” Everyone got a good laugh, even me. But it was one of the best theology lessons I’ve ever seen on TV.

“Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee” (Isaiah 26:3).

My friends, here is the truth: our lives cannot be destroyed by the storms of fear, or hate, or divorce, or mistakes, or hurtful words, or diabolical deeds, or sin—since our souls are sustained by God’s promises and power. This is what Paul meant when he wrote: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39