Peace In The Storm

Peace In the Storm

11/20/17

Each of us reacts differently when a storm occurs around us.  Some people become excited and others hide underneath the covers and wait until the activities are over.  Whatever the response might be it is a human reaction to have some type of fear or concern when we know a storm is coming.  It does not matter what type of storm it is either for all adversities entice us to act differently than normal.  God has given us a perfect example of how we should not fear these adverse times and how our emotions can be put into their place through Him.  Yes, trials and tribulations shall come to our lives but if we place our true faith in God His grace shall see us through any storm that we encounter.  It is time for His people to seek His faith again and turn our hearts back to God before we have to bear witness to a supernatural storm from God’s hand there is still time to change our lives before our nation is forever changed.

When I was a young man and serving in the United States Air Force, I had the privilege of spending some time in Wichita Falls, Texas which is right on the border of Texas and Oklahoma.  This area is also known as Tornado Alley because so many tornados form and run their course through this stretch of land.  Most of them are small and do not create much havoc among the populated areas but when an F3 – F5 tornado forms and threatens a town or city pandemonium can strike in a moment’s notice, and rightly so.  Too many of the people that have lived in this area for a while understand the dangers of such storms and can eventually become numb to their presence, but there are still quite a few who are deathly afraid of any type of storm that comes through the area and their actions reflect such feelings eventfully.

While many storms passed through this area when I was stationed there, a few stick out in my mind with one in particular that I still see in my mind as if it occurred last night.  The dorm that I was staying in was close by the runway of the local airport and AFB, which meant that I was able to see countless planes land and take off at all times of the day and night.  But when a storm came calling it was a different setting and this night the storm was strong and the winds were kicking up, the tornado sirens went off and many took shelter in their rooms but I went across the hall to another room to watch what about to occur.  My buddy was looking out the window and had his camera flashing off pictures as fast as he could for the lightning storm that was before our eyes were immaculate.  Being from the South I understood what a lightning storm could produce but this night my eyes were witness to dancing lightening which paraded itself across the runways of the base and airport.  The lightning was an amazing sight that even though the wind and rain were fiercely pounding away I was not afraid of it for my eyes were fixated on another powerful source.

In no manner whatsoever am I making light of the storm that night for a tornado did touch down in the city itself and provided minor damage to a couple of local farmers, but the fact that my eyes were fixated on another portion of that storm caused me to forget about the dangers of that storm and to get through it without any major issues.  Others in the building and on-base had different feelings about the storm for some had never been witness to such natural activity before and they had reason to be fearful as they demonstrated.  On the other side of life, storms do not always have to present themselves as natural events but can come in forms of trials and tribulations ranging from a cut finger to cancer and every type of condition and set in-between.  It is these types of storms that more of us are familiar with and go through many days of our lives and in turn fear the most.

In my profession, I see many people that are fearful of their future because of the diseases that they have been diagnosed with, yet many of these people demonstrate a type of courage of sustainability that I marvel at each time I see them or think about them.  So, how come the so-called healthy ones who grace this planet yet run and hide in fear when the least amount of adversity comes their way?  We are now witnessing a scenario where when people do not get their way or achieve the expected results that they desire they create their own storm to cope with the “disaster” around them.  There is no question that this nation has been protected from ugly national disasters and up until this point in our history, only regional or local situations have occurred.  But how will we be able to function when a supernatural disaster occurs?  Will we be able to stand and fight like we were created to do, and more importantly will we understand why these events occurred?

Mark 4:36-41 gives us the perfect example of how we should act during a storm that is around us and how not to act when the same storm is around us as well.  Jesus and the disciples send the multitude away and then spend a few moments together talking with one another.  The Bible says that on the same day during the evening time they decided to take a trip to the other side of the sea and cross it before the night was done.  All of them must have been tired for it had been a long day of meetings and many things had been discussed with the people so it says that Jesus lays down and goes to sleep in the boat.  As they were crossing the sea a large storm brewed over the water and began to toss the boat around.  Now, we must remember that this was in the early days of boat making and the boats that were made back then were flimsy at best and were very susceptible to weather and natural conditions.  Many people lost their lives during sudden storms such as this and since this type of travel was widely used the perils of such travel were commonly known as well.

Yet, while the storm was raging, the disciples did the most human thing that a person could do during a crisis and that is panic.  How panicked were they?  The Bible states: “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 awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?”  When we think about this setting or read about it in some form of written material, it seems like of funny because you have some that are calm and other who are panicked and the ones that are panicked are upset at the ones who are calm for not being panicked at that moment.  It is not hard for us to comprehend such a setting as here, for humans do act differently when “exciting or adrenaline rush” moments come about.  Yet Jesus is asleep and seems like He does not have a care in the world about what is going on around Him at that moment.

There is a huge message here that we need to understand about what in life we should be concerned about for while the storm may rage around us it is not our physical life that is important enough to be worried about but it is our eternal choice about our life that is most important.  The disciples wake Jesus up and cannot figure out how He could sleep at a time as this, they believed that they were about to die in this storm, again a typical human reaction to the physical surroundings at that moment.  But what did Jesus do?  He woke up and He must have immediately saw the storm and the conditions around Him.  He woke up, commanded the wind and the waves to be still and restored peace unto the area.  He did not hesitate in any manner or rebuke them for waking Him up, He only rebuked the wind.

Jesus then asked them the famous question of why were they so afraid?  A question that probably took the breath right out of their lungs for I can imagine that at least some of them were making repairs to the boat and others looking at the clouds around them wondering if Jesus was nuts for not understanding their concerns.  Have you ever had anyone ask you a similar question when things seemed tough and the one asking the question seems like nothing ever happened to begin with?  This was the reasoning Jesus had concerning the storm and the lack of faith the disciples portrayed while they were crossing the water.  Of course, this brought further discussions amongst the disciples, for now, they had literally witnessed Jesus command nature, yet their fear of the physical still riled within their lives as their primary objection.

It was not the fact that Jesus did not understand the physical conditions that were around Him and the disciples but it was the condition of what really is important to Him that mattered.  Jesus directly addressed their fear of the physical which made them think about what they should have really been concerned about at that time.  Yet, the disciples could not get passed the physical aspects of what had just occurred for Jesus was not out to change just the physical portion of the person but more importantly the eternal positioning of that person.  At that moment, the disciples should have realized that Jesus was not here to change the physical for He already commanded the physical but it was the choice of the human heart that He was interested in for even though every person is a child of God each person has the choice to choose God or to reject His Ways.  It is this choice that Jesus came to earth to shine as an eternal sacrifice for our sins and it is for this reason alone that God does not care about your physical state alone, but for your eternal life instead.

Stop and think about something for a moment, when Jesus walked the earth did He ever force His words on anyone or did He command them to bow before His feet?  No, He continually showed them that they needed to have a relationship with God and to understand that He was the only way possible to achieve the acceptable status to be close to His Father again.  God already commands the earth and everything that is involved in its turnings, why would He send Jesus to reinforce this point of contention?  In this passage, we see that Jesus commands nature, not the humans but asks them why don’t they believe in what their true mission is?  Jesus wants them to see that their focus is on their surroundings instead of the true battle (storm) that plagues us all. 

The middle section of Mark chapter 4 gives us the truth about why Jesus asked the disciples that question, for Jesus spent time explaining the Kingdom of God to them and to the multitude right before they got in the boat and crossed the sea.  Jesus brilliantly describes what the concept of the Kingdom means and what its mission is to the human race not the physical.  Yes, Jesus uses the physical to demonstrate and to explain the Kingdom and how it grows and advances but it is the human that He refers to here.  This passage is one that probably was in the heart of Paul when he wrote to the church at Ephesus concerning about who we should be fighting against.  We have no reason to fear the physical for the physical has already been determined, it is the spiritual or the eternal that matters.

When Jesus rebuked the wind and calmed the waters He said “peace, be still”, a simple yet concise statement that immediately took hold and presented itself without a whimper.  Is it possible for us to say this phrase with like-minded authority if we do not reside in such inner setting as Jesus?  If this type of condition were then it would be considered a divided kingdom; another detail to ponder for a while, yet how many of us either verbally proclaim or inwardly believe this phrase then project it to others while living in such a condition?  We cannot control the storms around us but we can control how we live for Christ.  Advancing God’s Kingdom does not revolve around the physical but the spiritual and there is no reason why we should be concerned about physical issues that come our way.  No matter what storm presents itself we must always live in such a way that Christ and God receive all the glory.  It is this truth that we need to be showing and presenting to the dying world.  Peace is a command of God, Jesus said this in this specific passage and if so, then peace is what we should be living in as well.

It does not matter if a storm comes in the form of Mother Nature, personal finances, divorce, war, bombings, or in death a storm is a storm no matter how one looks at it.  Sometimes a storm affects many and other times only a few but whatever the toll may be the storm completes its path and the damage is done.  When God shows me things that trouble my spirit I would like to say that I am and stay calm through those brief moments but I know that if I did I would be lying.  It is difficult to stay calm when He troubles my spirit for I know at some time in the near future something is going to occur and an unspecified number of people die.  This is a storm in my life and a troubling time that I am not comfortable and I have to admit that much of my time in these moments are focused on the storm and not what God is trying to show me.  I am as guilty as the disciples were and I have no excuses for it.

God has laid out plans for this nation and these plans have been given to a handful of people over the last few years.  These plans that God has shown them are not pretty at all and when we look at these storms on the horizon we would quickly dismiss them as hogwash and impossible to occur.  But we must remember that God is the God of impossibilities and even though we try to place Him in box He does not fit and if the second most powerful created being cannot defeat Him what makes us believe that a mere mortal shall cause Him to separate Himself from His own Kingdom?  It is time for the Church to stop fighting God and begin to fight for Him.  Countless lives shall be uprooted and changed forever we do not repent now and change the course of this nation’s heart.  The superficial uncovering is the beginning and shall continue with deeper meanings and longer hurt felt results unless we stop, turn our hearts and repent then change our lives by placing God first again.

And here is the message to the Church if this nation does not repent and turn from her ways, you shall not escape such judgment either.  You have taken the stance that only God can judge you, then so be it.  But when this time arrives do not be afraid for you have been warned through the Word of God and you should understand exactly why this event has occurred.  But your jaws will be open and your hearts speechless for your blindness has overcome and shadowed your heart to the world.  The ONLY one that will proclaim joy at first is Lucifer for it is he that has successfully blinded us, and his laughter will ring out into the heavens.  For those who have ears let them hear what the spirit is saying to the church.  Repent and be ready for the day shall come quickly.  Church be ready for this catastrophe shall change the entire world for our societies of today demand a big show and audience with all of its pomp and circumstance, well God is about to supernaturally show His truth and purity just as He did in the Bible; a storm far greater than what Jesus and the disciples experienced on the water but one just as eye-opening as what God has shared with us about that passage today.  Will you have peace on that day?  Allow God to examine yourselves and take out the roots that separate you from Him, for until you do you shall never know or understand true peace in the storm.

DLB