Storms of life take many forms, but we don’t have to face them on our own
“IN this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus famously spoke these words to his friends and followers just before he was to undergo the last few days of his life here on Earth.
It’s an interesting statement. Many people accept the first half - “in this world you will have trouble” - and wish they could accept the second half - “take heart! I have overcome the world.” And most Christians accept the second half about Jesus overcoming the world, but wish they didn’t have to accept the first half about having trouble.
The thing is, though, both parts of the statement are true and knowing the first half without the second leaves people sad and hopeless, while knowing the second half without accepting the first leaves people deluded and let down.
Jesus was a bit of an expert when it came to going through trouble but holding on to peace, hope and endurance and He did his best to teach his friends that a relationship with him would bring about the same results as well.
There are two storms that His friends battled with on a massive lake called the Sea of Galilee.
Jesus’ friends were experienced fishermen and knew a thing or two about the waves and the weather, but these two storms were so huge that they feared for their lives and were crying out for help.
In the first storm, while all of this chaos was going on, Jesus was snoozing in the boat!
Literally. Can you imagine what his friends thought? He was fast asleep, having a rest and woke up, only to tell the storm to be still before then trying to get His friends to calm down too.
In the second storm, Jesus sent His friends off across the lake without Him, they got caught up in a gigantic storm and Jesus was nowhere to be seen until He came walking towards them on the lake.
Again, He rebukes the wind and the waves, then steps into the boat to bring peace and calm to His friends. Incredible!
We all go through storms of our own. Maybe not literal, out on the lake, sort of storms. But storms of worry, sickness, grief, disappointment, stress, the list goes on…
In times like these we might, like
When His friends called out for help, Jesus saved them. And the Christian faith is that He’s the same today.
Jesus’ friends in the first storm, think that Jesus is uninterested or unaware. Or, like in the second storm, we may think that He’s not around at all! But in both stories we see that Jesus was aware and He was around and He had power over the storm and peace in the storm.
When His friends called out for help, Jesus saved them. And the Christian faith is that He’s the same today. If you’re going through a storm, you can cry out for help. What have you got to lose?
The promise of Jesus is this: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”