So many times in life, we find out that we are not prepared for what is coming up. In college, I felt the need to stay on campus for Hurricane Fran, just to see what it was like. My friends and I decided that we would ride it out, though none of us really knew what to expect. We failed to watch the Weather Channel when they talked about the preparations that we needed to take and came up with our own plan. It consisted of junk food and sodas, but no flashlights, candles, or anything like that. Mt. Olive College was right in the path of the monster and in the middle of the night, we began to realize that we weren’t ready for what we were in the midst of.

In life, storms are always on the horizon, and normally they come when everything seems to be calm. There are many different types of “life” storms and rarely are we prepared for them. One way that we lack in preparation is not knowing the Word of God or understanding the power of God. So many of us miss the blessing of a storm because we only see the pain that we experience during it, rather than looking to see if the Lord was actually molding us through the storm.

I was hit with the passage of Jesus calming the storm on the sea the other day and the Lord showed me how that story can help us prepare for life’s storms and deal with life’s storms through the three truths contained in the story. This one simple story, found in Mark 4: 35-41, gives us three truths that apply to any type of storm that we go through as Christians.

The First Truth – There will be storms
“And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were braking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up.” Mark 4:37

The first truth that we find in this story is that there will be storms in your lifetime. It could be a financial storm, health problems, a death in the family or of a friend, marital problems, or even storms in your career. No matter what types of storms they are, the truth is, we will all have them. Understanding this fact allows us to handle the storms when they come, rather than being taken unexpected. Some storms in your life will be small ones while others will be large. There will be times where you feel like you are sinking and you are sure that the waves will overtake you. By preparing ourselves ahead of time, we are not caught off guard and completely overtaken by the storm that hits.

The Second Truth – You will have questions and fear during the storms

“and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Mark 4:38
The second truth is that you will not always understand why you are going through the storm. Most of the time, as soon as things begin to go wrong, we start out by asking God, “Why me?”. Look at the reaction of the disciples. They were scared and they couldn’t figure out why Jesus would just lay there and let them suffer. We are just like them when we feel like our troubles will overtake us. Job did the same thing, as he questioned the Lord during his trials. We must have the understanding that we are going to have questions because we don’t fully understand God’s purpose for that storm.

The Third Truth – Jesus is in the boat with us and is in control

“Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion.” Mark 4:38
“And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.” Mark 4:39
No matter what type of storm you are in, as Christians, we have the assurance that Jesus is in the boat with us. In faith, we have to see that God is able to teach us something or reveal another attribute of His character through the storms. Most of the time, it is the only way that the Lord can truly get our undivided attention. Though the storm is raging, Jesus is right there with us and when the time is right, He will calm the storm. The old hymn says, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.”, and it wonderful to know that we are not alone in the storm. We have to keep sight of Christ in the tough times rather than feeling abandoned by Him. He promised that He’d never leave us, even in the storms. We just forget that He is there in the boat.

Storms are a fact of life, but God has given us three truths to help in preparing for those storms through this story in Mark. Realizing that the greatest power ever is present with you during those times will help you to praise God for the storm, rather than falsely blaming Him for abandoning you. As a Christian, you will not be overtaken by the waves because, like the disciples said, “even the wind and the sea obey Him.” Your storms will make you a stronger person and cause you to rely more on the power of God. It in when we rely on Him that He performs the miracle of calming the storm.

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