Lately, we have had multiple storms in Alabama. Storms that seem to come out of nowhere. This is much the way life presents itself. Life is full of storms, and how we handle them will impact us for all eternity. I remember a particular flight I took, and as the plane was becoming a little bumpy, the pilot came on and said there was a bit of turbulence. I looked out the window, and I could see the lightning, the rain, and the darkness that comes with a storm. Storm clouds tend to look angry and dark. They look that way because they are thicker and denser than typical clouds. As a cloud gathers more water droplets and ice crystals, it becomes thicker and allows less light to pass through it. It appeared that the darkness was taking over until the pilot decided to rise above the storm. In a few short minutes, we were above the angry cloud. The sunlight was beautiful, and the ride was peaceful. Looking down, the cloud looked like a beautiful mountain of snow as the sun shined down upon it. A fearful moment turned into a peaceful ride. The dark image turned into a reflection of light that was almost too bright to look upon. Everything had calmed down simply by getting above the storm.
That ride reminds me of how we, too, can weather the storms of life. In Mark 4:36-41, Jesus is on the ship sleeping while His disciples watch and weather the storm. Finally, they realized they couldn’t handle it on their own, so they woke Jesus. I find it a bit amusing that they, the ones who had witnessed His miraculous power repeatedly, asked Him, “Don’t you care if we perish?” He awoke and rebuked the wind, and immediately, the seas calmed. Now he turns to them and asks, “Why are ye so fearful?” “How is it that ye have no faith?” He didn’t say little faith; he said, “no faith!”
Mark 4:36-41 “And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awoke him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Jesus knew their faith had weakened. They tried to maneuver through the storm until all their efforts failed. As a last resort, they turned to Jesus. Are we not a lot like the disciples? We search for answers, and we seek to solve our storms our way. We steer our ship in one direction and then another until we feel trapped in the middle of the storm. As a last resort, when all our efforts have failed, we run to Jesus. We start praying as if he were asleep in our boat. We beg Him to take over and guide us through this storm. Why did we waste so much time seeking to weather this storm on our own? Becoming frustrated, miserable, and feeling hopeless, we, too, run to Jesus as our last resort. Sometimes I have felt him saying to me, “Why are ye so fearful,” as I have charted my own course.
As I turned to Him and surrendered, I felt Him taking me above the angry clouds, just like the pilot of the airplane. In a few short minutes, everything looks different as I rise above the angry clouds and get closer to the Son! Did the problem change, maybe not, but my perspective changed? I was no longer hopeless but hopeful. I no longer feared the “what if” but anxiously awaited the beauty of what God would do. Instead of looking at the situation through a microscope, I was seeing it through a huge telescope. As I peered through the lens, I could see where Jesus was putting things together, both for my benefit and for others.
Oh, there will be storms in life, many storms, but we need to be ready to step back and let Jesus take over. We need to rest in Him even though chaos may appear to be in control. When we get to the point that we understand how much He loves us, our fears will change to confidence. Confidence that He knows what is best. Confidence that He is always working on my behalf to make me more like Him, and a confidence that he will not forsake me but will guide me each step of the way. Will it be painless? No! It wasn’t painless to train my children to stay close to me and not wander off in a store. It is not painless to get physically fit, but getting healthy and training children is what is best for all.
When we seek our strength and wisdom, we will stay in the darkness of the storm. It will consume us as we look around, and everything is dark. But when we let our Pilot take us above the cloud, we can ride it out with peace and a deep-seated joy that no one can touch. There will be a calmness that whatever God deems necessary in our lives, we will be okay because He is in control.
