What A Friend We Have In Jesus

You might remember the phrase from a famous movie a while back, “Life is like a box of chocolates…you never know what you’re going to get.” And if you have lived any number of years here on this earth than you know that that phrase is true…life is anything but predictable. Your circumstances can change with a blink of an eye, and in the process your whole world can turn upside down. Life is not always pleasant and it‘s not always what you want it to be…you never know which way the wind will blow and what storm it will bring with it.

Often our peaceful lives are interrupted by these disturbing storms. It may be an unexpected shower, like a cutting remark that wounds are pride. Or it may be a brutal F-5 tornado that tears through your world, like the loss of a loved one, a pink slip from your boss, or maybe a lump on your breast that the doctor says is malignant.

In life, no matter the forecast there is always a chance for rain. Job 5:6-7 “For hardship does not spring from the soil, nor does trouble sprout from the ground. Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.” Now how we react to those unpredictable disturbances will either make or break us in our Christian life. This dramatic incident on the Sea of Galilee should teach us some valuable lessons about life and also some basic principles about God’s protection in life’s storms.

So let’s look at this text together, and I want you to see three practical lessons that you can apply to your life and help you in your Christian walk.

The first thing I want you to see is that Every Person Experiences Storms, even if they have Jesus in their boat. This storm came impartially. Having Jesus in their boat did not exempt the disciples from being battered by a serious squall. And just because you are a Christian doesn’t mean that you are exempt from the problems of life. A preacher once said that there are three kinds of Christians: Those coming out of a storm, those in a storm, and those fixing to go into one. Every one of us fits into one of these categories.

Some of you may be enduring a downpour even as we speak, and you are wondering how you will keep your boat afloat, and as a Christian you are not exempt from those problems. Sometimes storms come into our lives because of our own misdoings, Like Jonah who disobeyed God so God sent a mighty storm after him. You decide to go to the coast and gamble your paycheck away then you at the end of the month you ask God why your having trouble making ends meet. You neglect to discipline your child, you never teach them the things of God and when they hit the teen years you wonder why you have such a rebellious teen.

Sometimes the storms come from our own bad choices, but not always…at times they come even when we are doing right. Unlike the storm that hit Jonah, these disciples were not being punished for an act of disobedience. In fact, they were doing exactly what the Lord had asked them to do…they were going to the other side of the lake, and yet they still had to endure a storm. Just because you attend church doesn’t mean you’ll never get cancer. Just because you marry another Christian doesn’t mean you’ll never have problems in your marriage. Just because you tithe doesn’t mean that you’ll never be in debt. Matthew 5:45 says that “ He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” The rain falls on us both, so don’t be mislead by a preacher who tells you that if you become a Christian you’ll never have to worry about being sick, or about your finances, that you’ll never experience any type of trouble at all…don’t believe them because it’s just not true. Even as a Christian the storms will come. God does not exempt us from pain. If He did then people would follow Him for purely selfish reasons.

Jesus told a parable about two builders who built their house on different foundations, one was on solid rock and the other was on sand…now notice in that parable that the storm came an hit both houses and the only difference was in the type of foundation the house was built. You see being a good Christian doesn’t exempt you from accidents, malignancies, tornadoes or termites; but it does give you a foundation to withstand the storm. It has been said that God had only one Son without sin, but none without suffering. Even the apostle Paul had a thorn in the flesh. In John 16:33 Jesus says, “…In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." So don’t be discouraged when you face the storm, realize that it is a normal part of life.