Subject: Do thunder and lightning make you nervous?

An event in the life of Jesus' disciples is told in Mark chapter 4. We read where they were in a boat crossing the lake when a terrible storm came up. The wind was howling, the rain was pouring down, and as with these types of storms, you know the thunder rolled and the lightning flashed. The disciples were terrified as the boat began to be in danger of sinking. We can imagine the chaos and fear, as they frantically used their own efforts to save themselves. The only problem was, their efforts were proving futile. Finally, they looked for help where they should have looked in the first place. We read:

But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" (Mark 4:38)

Jesus immediately rose up, rebuked the winds and the waves, and created calm and peace where there had been fear, chaos, and confusion. We tend to read Scripture and picture the people mentioned as somehow “different” from us, but that’s not true at all. They were no different from us.

We know that rain doesn't normally make people fearful, nor does strong winds. We know that when you mix these with large amounts of thunder and lightning, though, the fear factor goes up dramatically! The same is true with the details and circumstances of our lives. We generally don't get too anxious and upset until the spiritual and mental equivalents of thunder and lightning add that stress of; DANGER! RUN! DO SOMETHING! DO IT NOW! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! We suddenly lose our calm and act like "Chicken Little" because "the sky is falling! the sky is falling!" It’s not the thunder and lightning in our lives that is the great danger, instead, it is the “forgetting God’s presence that puts us at risk. That’s when we start looking for “any port in a storm.” That is dangerous!! God gives us this passage so we can be forewarned and forearmed. When the thunder crashes, the lightning flashes, and the waves threaten to swamp our boat, we know to go to Jesus. If HE seems to be asleep (HE’s not), keep talking to Him. It will stir Him to act on your behalf and it will remind you just Who you are talking to. After Jesus stilled the storm and the sea, He asked His disciples:

But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" (Verse 40)

He reminded them that HE indeed was and is God. HE said, in effect, “If God is with you, why did you fear? Don’t you believe at all? My child, be calm in my Presence."

If you are God's child, if you have placed your trust in Him for your eternity, then put your trust in Him for your "right now" also. HE may appear to be just asleep in the back of the boat, oblivious to the perceived danger, but just like that time with the disciples, HE is aware, HE is awake, HE is all-knowing, HE is all-powerful, HE is all-sufficient. Be at peace, child of God, and know that your heavenly Father knows when the littlest sparrow falls and that He sees you as being of far greater value than many myriads of sparrows. His eye is on the sparrow, and you know he watches you.

Need peace in your storms of life? Get in to God’s Word; HE will speak peace to you.

                     Your brother in the boat,

                      Ben