Stormy Days

Here’s the thing about storms: you are either in a storm, coming out of storm, or heading into storm. You can bet that Jesus, the very one whose voice calms the storm has a lesson to teach in a storm.

The gospel of Mark chapter 4 records Jesus calming a storm with just a word, Quiet which translates as Peace. The gospel of Matthew also records a storm but Jesus responds quite differently in this account.

Instead of being in the boat like in Mark’s storm, Jesus walks out in storm to meet the disciples. They spot Him in the distance and cry out to Jesus. Much to their dismay, Jesus does not calm the storm. In the midst of the panic, Peter calls to the Lord. The Lord instructs Peter to come to him. Peter steps out of the boat onto the water and begins walking to Jesus. Can you picture this? Oh, it gives me chills to think of such a sight.

Peter realizes that he is walking on the water, panics and begins to sink. He calls to the Lord to save him. The Lord reaches His hand out to Peter and saves Him. WOW!

There are so many lessons to be learned from this story. But here’s the one that shouts to me:  Jesus did not calm the storm before He asked Peter to come to Him.

The Lord may not choose to calm our storm. A calm may not be His best for us at the time. God’s best may be for us to step out of the boat into the storm and walk with Jesus through it.

Read the complete story with fresh eyes today. What is your take-away?

Matthew 12:22-33

 

6 Comments

  1. Thanks for this Wendy, this is so good. He does not calm the storm, but takes my hand in the storm. Even though my faith is wishy washy and I waver He will still take my hand and walk me through it. So many times all I want is for God to calm my storms instead of learning what He wants me to learn by walking with Him through the storms.

  2. Wow Wendy, I loved your last comment about the Lord ‘may not choose to calm our storms’. I am going through one now – pulled one way and then another, and reading those words seem to calm me and made me pause and think! Now I will wait for Him to walk me through it, and I know one day the storm will be over.
    Thanks.

  3. Wendy, thanks for your insight into this story, I am struggling with a storm that I have no idea when it will end but it is so comforting to know the Lord is with me through every minute.

  4. I just got an urgent prayer request from my niece. Requesting prayer for my x sister-in-law, her mother. Her name is also Janet, she is in the hospital for liver and kidney failure. My niece left me a message on FB. Her mom has poly-cystic kidneys which is hereditary, She was hospitalized last Monday and they thought it was just the kidneys at first. But the poly-cystic kidneys caused liver cysts that usually don’t do anything but have caused her liver to fail also. She’s mostly stabilized now and they’ll be transferring her to a transplant center to get started on that process and further treat her liver symptoms, Barnes Jewish hospital in St Louis is where they are taking her. She needs both a new kidney and a new liver, as they won’t put a good organ in when the other is failing.My x husband has these kidneys also, he had a kidney transplant last year. His aunts and uncles and father all passed away from this kidney disease. Thanks for your prayers!!!

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