Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea so that the waves engulfed the boat, but Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord save us! We are perishing!” “You of little faith,” Jesus replied, “Why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was hushed. Matthew 8:24-26
I was struck the other day by a simple word: suddenly! The word is a perfect summation of so much that happens in our lives. No matter how hard we try to plan, organize and be prepared, suddenly things happen. In the past few weeks, there have been a lot of sudden events. Two weeks ago driving down the highway when the semi-truck in front of me lost part of its tire, and it impacted my car causing a few thousand dollars’ worth of damage. One day later suddenly a parsonage catches on fire. One week later a pastor’s son’s life was tragically taken. Sprinkled in all of these events were other things that a month ago I had no idea would transpire. So today I am taking courage from a familiar passage of Scripture. Matthew records Jesus getting in the boat and the disciples getting on board with Him, and off they go on their journey of following Jesus. What could be a more safe place to live than following Jesus and staying close to him? We think of sudden trials coming when we have slightly strayed from His path, yet here they are in the same boat with Jesus. I looked the word up in the concordance and found that suddenly appears in the Bible many times. The use of the word suddenly in Matthew 8:24 reminds us no one saw the storm coming! It developed and happened so quickly it caught them off guard. This event wasn’t a spring shower this was a violent storm. It arrived swiftly and violently, and they were in the storm. Now if the first disciples of Jesus for no other apparent reason get caught up in sudden storms, count on it, you and I will experience storms as well.
What do you do when the storms of life are raging all around you? Follow the disciple’s example: they went to Jesus immediately. Their cry was the cry of Christ followers down through the ages; Lord save us! Being a Christian does not exempt one from storms. Instead, we have a Savior who is Lord even of the storm! The disciples told Jesus we are perishing as if to say don’t you care about us, don’t you care what happens to us? Before Jesus rebukes the storm he has a word for His disciples: you folks of little faith why are you afraid? That is the question He is asking me today as I have faced the sudden storms of the past few weeks, why are you scared, Ron?
Jesus then turns to the storm, rebukes the storm and says peace be still! I am thankful that over the last 2 to 3 weeks on numerous occasions the master of the storms has said peace be still!
I am praying for His peace over all of my friends who are suffering today. Once more may Jesus come to where you are and give you peace that is bigger and greater than your storm!
None of us are exempt of sudden storms. We don’t get prepared for the storm in the storm; today is the day to get ready, to fill our minds with His word and to trust Him and walk with Him. So today my friend wherever you may be, Jesus can calm your storm!
This post was written by Dr Ron Blake. You can find his original post here: wesleyshorse.com/suddenly-there-was-a-storm/
I was struck the other day by a simple word: suddenly! The word is a perfect summation of so much that happens in our lives. No matter how hard we try to plan, organize and be prepared, suddenly things happen. In the past few weeks, there have been a lot of sudden events. Two weeks ago driving down the highway when the semi-truck in front of me lost part of its tire, and it impacted my car causing a few thousand dollars’ worth of damage. One day later suddenly a parsonage catches on fire. One week later a pastor’s son’s life was tragically taken. Sprinkled in all of these events were other things that a month ago I had no idea would transpire. So today I am taking courage from a familiar passage of Scripture. Matthew records Jesus getting in the boat and the disciples getting on board with Him, and off they go on their journey of following Jesus. What could be a more safe place to live than following Jesus and staying close to him? We think of sudden trials coming when we have slightly strayed from His path, yet here they are in the same boat with Jesus. I looked the word up in the concordance and found that suddenly appears in the Bible many times. The use of the word suddenly in Matthew 8:24 reminds us no one saw the storm coming! It developed and happened so quickly it caught them off guard. This event wasn’t a spring shower this was a violent storm. It arrived swiftly and violently, and they were in the storm. Now if the first disciples of Jesus for no other apparent reason get caught up in sudden storms, count on it, you and I will experience storms as well.
What do you do when the storms of life are raging all around you? Follow the disciple’s example: they went to Jesus immediately. Their cry was the cry of Christ followers down through the ages; Lord save us! Being a Christian does not exempt one from storms. Instead, we have a Savior who is Lord even of the storm! The disciples told Jesus we are perishing as if to say don’t you care about us, don’t you care what happens to us? Before Jesus rebukes the storm he has a word for His disciples: you folks of little faith why are you afraid? That is the question He is asking me today as I have faced the sudden storms of the past few weeks, why are you scared, Ron?
Jesus then turns to the storm, rebukes the storm and says peace be still! I am thankful that over the last 2 to 3 weeks on numerous occasions the master of the storms has said peace be still!
I am praying for His peace over all of my friends who are suffering today. Once more may Jesus come to where you are and give you peace that is bigger and greater than your storm!
None of us are exempt of sudden storms. We don’t get prepared for the storm in the storm; today is the day to get ready, to fill our minds with His word and to trust Him and walk with Him. So today my friend wherever you may be, Jesus can calm your storm!
This post was written by Dr Ron Blake. You can find his original post here: wesleyshorse.com/suddenly-there-was-a-storm/
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