We all know the times when the ground beneath our feet shook and we grabbed on to the nearest solid thing we could find. Divorce, death, illness, job loss, bankruptcy, betrayal, broken friendships, and natural disasters. We all know that storms have come. We all hope that they will not come again. Yet, we all know that storms will come. We are not guaranteed the peace of a life that never storms; indeed, Jesus told us in John 16:33, ‘In this world, you will have troubles.’ At least it was straight out, direct and to the point.

Familiarity not enough

Mark 4:35-41 tell of a storm that came upon Jesus and the disciples. We are familiar with it, I am sure. Jesus was sleeping in the boat when a storm came suddenly over them and they cowered in fear. Fishermen who had been on this sea most days of their lives and from the time they were small children helping their fathers with the catch – they were afraid of this storm. So violent and sudden, it stirs the air and the waters themselves. I wonder at these fishermen who did not know what to do in the storm. But goodness, isn’t that how we are? The places we go every day, the people we see so often, they are the ones who surround us when the troubles come. And still the familiar does nothing to comfort. The routine does not bail water. The familiar and routine do not help in the storm at all.

Point of lateness: panic

The storm came upon them suddenly; maybe it was their experience in the Sea of Galilee that gave them the rational assurance that all would be well, ‘after all, we’ve done this before’ they may have thought. Maybe they were so busy working the sail and bailing water they just assumed that all hands were ‘on deck.’ Jesus slept through it all. They were at the point of panic when they finally woke him, they cry out to Jesus. Have you noticed what they say in waking him? They don’t cry out ‘save us!’. ‘Save us!’ would have indicated that they understood his power and his desire to be with them and deliver them from troubles. Instead, they cry out ‘Don’t you care?!?’ (verse 38). They are in the boat fighting the waves and wind, wondering if they will perish but not holding fast to his promises. They are wondering if he cares. Surely, if he cares he will work with us, do something.

He does care! Yet, the disciples’ words imply that He does not. He was there all along, in the storm with them. However long it took for them to turn to Jesus, it was enough time for panic to build and fear to take over. Jesus’s next words are ‘why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’. I think Jesus knew they had faith, but fear had pushed it to the wayside. Fear had grown bigger than faith, that was the issue. When they turned to Jesus (finally), He immediately stood and calmed the storm. He did not take even a moment to ask what was going on or assess the issue at hand. He stood up and took care of the problem. He knew best how to resolve the issue.

Storms come, fear optional

I am not saying that Jesus will immediately remove any problem. He will immediately remove the storm when we call out to him, when we recognize fear for what it is and set it to the wayside. He removes the storm within though our circumstances may not change at all. He stills the mind, calms our fears, and bestows peace. He is saying in these two questions that fear and faith change our perspective. The problems are not so looming and large when faith is big and imposing. When fear grows larger than faith, we have huge problems (not the ones we are looking at – but the one of faith). He knows best how to resolve the problem. He is not sleeping in your storm(s); He knows what your storm is (and storms are).  

Storms are not optional, but fear is. He has tied shut the mouths of lions and saved men from fiery furnaces. He’s opened the Red Sea and closed it upon enemies. He’s stilled waters and winds and cast out legions of evil. He can still your storm too. He waited until the disciples, his closest friends, called out to him. He is not like an interfering mother-in-law or a nosy neighbor. He is already there: the Spirit may be whispering to you, but you don’t hear him, or you have blocked out his voice. But He is here, living inside you. Be still and seek Him. Don’t worry, you have the time; it only takes a moment for His peace to ascend. God has stilled the storm within, but he takes it a step further.

He empowers us

In John 16:33 Jesus says, ‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’ Knowing who Jesus is, that He is God’s Son and both God and Jesus love us, is the message of this chapter, with this crowning verse that says Jesus has reminded us of all this so we may have peace. He tells us we must expect to have troubles, too. But doesn’t leave us there with troubles and peace. He gives us hope in the next part of the verse. ‘But take heart!’ he says, take heart we have likely seen translated as take courage. Looking at the Greek, with a little assistance from HELPS Word-studies*, the phrase describes how the Lord empowers from within us, through the Holy Spirit, to live out our faith in confidence, boldness, and courage. Then Jesus continues with more hope: ‘I have carried off victorious in this war!’. This verse is Jesus saying, ‘I have told you these things that faith in Me may take hold to make you whole and give you peace. Troubles will come to you, but because you have me within you, empowering you in battle, we are already victorious.’

Just like in Joseph’s story, God can make these storms into something amazing. The slave trade of Joseph led to the salvation of a nation. The widowhood of Ruth led to redemption of the world. Bathsheba’s loss of husband and child eventually led to the birth of the wisest king in history. God doesn’t just still storms, he transforms storms. Jesus already knew that the enslavement of Joseph would lead to his becoming the second most powerful man in Egypt, saving many in time of famine. He already knows what will come of the storm you are in now and the one that is coming next. Jesus doesn’t just say to stop being afraid, He assures us that we need not be afraid because of his empowering presence. He cares so much that He spent the Spirit to live within us to know us intimately and carry us through every storm. Let the storms of the Bible reveal how greatly He cares. Our storms are an opportunity to lean into him, trusting him, knowing that the outcome will be better than we could ever imagine.

* HELPS Word-study https://biblehub.com/text/john/16-33.htm; https://biblehub.com/greek/2293.htm; https://biblehub.com/greek/3528.htm