April 26 - May 2, 2020: Luke 8:22-25
Refresh: What storms are raging in your life right now? How can you find greater peace in the middle of your storm?
Read: Luke 8:22-25
Have you been sent information on the coronavirus from your friends, family, employer, utility companies, creditors, anyone you do business with, and even your church? Seems like we are constantly being bombarded with information whether we want it or not, and at times I feel so overwhelmed by it all, I feel as if I am caught in a hurricane. And the longer this goes on, you start hearing a wide range of opinions of where this virus has come from and what it’s leading to in the future. I had heard enough that I couldn’t think about it or talk about it any longer! I dropped the subject and said, my God is in control, whatever happens, God will take care of me! We are in a storm right now, and some days the thunder roars, and the waves seem as if they are going rogue.
The lesson in our story today comes in two different reactions to this storm. The disciples are terrified, they have done everything possible that they know to do in times like this. But the situation is out of their control. Then there is Jesus. He is asleep on the back of the boat, and not just asleep, He is sound asleep! He has no idea what is going on, how can this be? Alex Bryan tells us in Living God’s Love, perhaps Jesus is actually conscious of God, and He’s possibly awake to the Spirit of God. His faith in his Father is so strong, that no matter where he is or what he is doing the hands of God are keeping him safe.
The point of this story may not be that God is always going to calm the storms in our lives or change the circumstances that surround us. The point just might be how do we navigate through these storms that seem as if they are going to drown us.
Jesus wakes up, and says, “Peace be still” and the lake is perfectly calm, the storm is over. But perhaps the peace is not meant for the storm. The peace is meant for us. If we can develop the kind of faith that Jesus had in his Father, we too, can have peace. God is still in control. No matter how bad things may get, God is in control. Someday, he will say “enough is enough,” but until then we can claim His promise that He will never leave us, nor forsake us. (Deut. 31:8; Josh 1:5)
Recalibrate: How you can be the calming force in the storms where you work, live, and play?
Research: Sometimes It Takes a Storm by Jessica King https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SFYEKk7_Zg