Jesus Calms a Storm
Tom Shrader walks through Mark 4:35-41, where Jesus calms a violent storm on the Sea of Galilee while His disciples panic, and draws a parallel to the storm in the book of Jonah to show that God either causes or allows the storms in our lives for our spiritual benefit. The disciples' fearful cry—'Do you not care that we are perishing?'—illustrates the temptation to interpret hardship as God's indifference, when in fact the opposite is true: because He loves us, He allows pain to produce growth. Shrader closes by distinguishing between the fear that paralyzes and the reverent awe that frees, urging the congregation to respond to life's storms with faith rather than anxiety.
“Because he loves you, there'll be pain in your life, because the only way you're gonna grow in your faith is to have challenges, difficulty, affliction, hardship, disappointment, hurt, pain.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: Mark
Recorded: 2005 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 47 min
Themes: fear, faith, suffering, trust, storms of life, anxiety, God's care, awe, struggling with fear, feeling abandoned by God, going through hardship, doubting God's love, new believer, in crisis, grieving, overwhelmed adult
Scripture: Mark 4:35-41, Matthew 8:23-27, Luke 8:22-25, Mark 3:6, Mark 3:8, Mark 3:20, Mark 3:31-35, Mark 4:33, Mark 1:21, Jonah 1:1-4, Jonah 1:9, Jonah 1:17, Jonah 2:10, Jonah 3, Jonah 4:6-8, John 3, John 6, James 1:2-4, Romans 5:3, Ephesians 6, Colossians 1:16-17
Theological Themes: providence, sovereignty of God, sanctification, theodicy, christology, divine care, miracles, fear of the Lord
Full Transcript
A Day Like No Other
Turn your Bibles to the gospel of Mark. Mark chapter 4 is where we're headed tonight. We continue our study in the snapshots of the life of Christ, working our way through in chronological order as best we can.
In the fourth chapter we're going to look at verses 35 through 41. In my Bible the heading on this section says "Jesus Calms the Storm." This account also appears in Matthew's gospel, chapter 8 verses 23 to 27, and in Luke chapter 8 verses 22 to 25. Let's read this, and then we'll come back and unpack it.
Here's what it says: "On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, 'Let us go across to the other side.' And leaving the crowd, they took him, speaking of Jesus, with them in the boat just as he was, and other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. And they woke him and said to him, 'Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?' And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the sea, saying, 'Peace, be still.' And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. And he said to them, 'Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?' And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, 'Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?'"
Just as a first observation: these men are afraid at the beginning of this story, but by the end they are very much afraid in a different way. Something special is taking place.
The State of Jesus' Ministry
Look at the very first part of verse 35. It says "on that day." People will ask you at the end of a day, "How was your day? Anything new? Anything exciting? Were you busy?" Jesus has had an extraordinary day. It has become somewhat representative of where things stand at this point in His ministry.
Look back at Mark chapter 3. Jesus has gone into the synagogue and healed the man with a withered hand. Then in verse 6 we read: "The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, on how to destroy Jesus." Here is the first thing that is happening: the religious authorities are after Jesus. They are out to destroy Him, and as you well know, they are ultimately going to have Him killed. The opposition is really beginning to mount against Him.
At the same time, look at verse 8. When the great crowd heard all that He was doing, they came to Him, and Jesus told the disciples to have a boat ready because of the crowd, lest they crush Him, for He had healed many. So two things are happening simultaneously: on one hand the opposition is growing, and on the other hand this is the peak of Jesus' popularity. This is the most popular He is going to be in His entire earthly ministry. He is doing signs and wonders and miracles, the word is spreading, and people are responding to it.
We noted a couple of weeks ago that in Mark chapter 4, when He delivers His first parable — the first of some 27 to 32 parables depending on how you count them — most scholars believe He was addressing the largest crowd He had ever addressed or would ever address. His popularity is soaring.
Opposition from Every Side
In verse 13, He gathers His closest men together — the Apostles. He picks twelve of them, including Judas. These are the men who are going to be with Him throughout His earthly ministry, and eleven of the twelve will ultimately serve Him faithfully.
Then opposition comes from a closer and more personal direction — His own family. Verse 20 tells us He went home and the crowds gathered again, so that they could not even eat. When His family heard of it — and looking at verse 31, He is talking about His mother and His brothers — their assessment of Jesus at this point is startling. They said He is out of His mind. He is crazy.
We know that His brothers did not believe in Him at this time. We know that James, His half-brother, later becomes a pillar of the early church. But at this point, they are saying He has lost His mind. Most likely what they are reacting to is not even His teaching so much as His open defiance of the religious leaders. They are saying He is going to get Himself killed.
They come to see Him in verse 31, standing outside, and the crowd tells Him they are there. In verse 33, Jesus responds: "Who are my mother and my brothers?"
The Relationship Closer Than Blood
Brothers — He looked at those around Him and said, "Here is my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and my sister and my mother." What He is saying is that there are people we share a chain of DNA with, a genetic commonality, but He is introducing a relationship that is closer than that. Those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ — most of us, when we pray, the very first word we begin with is "Father." The scripture says we were children of disobedience, sons of wrath, and we are now children of God. Here is this new relationship that we find ourselves in.
Then in chapter 4 He delivers His first parable, and it becomes a typical teaching method for Him. Verse 33 of chapter 4 says that there were many such parables that He spoke as they were able to hear. He did not explain them to the general public, but He explained them to His own disciples. That is the background — those are the days that had gathered around Him.
What "Disciple" Actually Means
Now, as He heads out on the boat, with Him are His disciples. This is really important. When we look at the word "disciple," we tend to think something spiritual, but the word has no particularly spiritual connotation to it. It simply means learner, pupil, follower. You could be a disciple of anyone or anything — Socrates, Plato, Bono, anybody. You could be a follower of any of these people.
In the scripture we see four types of disciples. The first are people who are not believers at all — they are just generally curious, just wondering what is happening. The second are people like Nicodemus in John chapter 3 — they have intellectually understood what Jesus is saying, but there is no conversion there; they may be seeking more. The third would be those who are believers but, if you will, are like Joseph of Arimathea — they are secret believers. The fourth type of disciple are those who are genuinely, truly converted, and it is open, clear, and public.
So when you are reading through the Gospels and you come to John chapter 6 and it says "with this teaching many of his disciples no longer followed him," that is that first group — the people who were simply hanging on. Then Jesus starts to unpack what it means to follow Him and says, "The foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head." Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me. If you are truly a follower of Christ, there is a cost associated with it. When those curious ones hear that cost, they say, "Not me."
The Cost of Genuine Discipleship
Think about the people who come to East Valley Bible Church — not the paid staff, but the volunteers, people like you. You have a busy week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday — tough, long, hard days. Students have school all week, and then Saturday comes with all the things around the house. Then Sunday arrives and you think, there goes my one free day.
I always hear in the summer from people concerned about how others dress when they come, particularly on Sunday nights. Now, dress modestly — everyone knows that. But beyond modest, when someone shows up in jeans or shorts, looking like they just got out of the pool, you ought to be saying thank God they are here. We are living in 120-degree heat, and we ought to be rejoicing that they came at all. There is a cost to showing up.
If you are a student, we are going to ask you for Wednesday night on top of it, and a discipleship leader may contact you through the week. If you are an adult, we are asking perhaps for a night to serve and a night for a small group. There is a cost to this. But you do it willingly, because you are one of those genuine followers.
Seeing the Church Clearly
So as you read through scripture and you see these disciples with their odd reactions, you now understand why — because they were not truly converted. You see the same thing in the church. In this room right now, some of you are curious; maybe a friend brought you and you just kind of found yourself here, hanging around to see what happens. Others of you are saying, "I get it intellectually," but there is not a faith there.
And so you look around and you say, "I know he goes to East Valley Bible Church, I know she is part of a discipleship group — how can they act that way?" There are two explanations: one, they are immature and sinning, or still growing; or two, they are not believers. Do not expect a believer and a non-believer to act the same way.
When the cost comes and someone pays it, do not look at them and say, "Boy, they are really something special — here on Sunday, here on Wednesday night, reading their Bible, sharing the truth." That is not something special. That is the picture of a normal, healthy Christian life. It is important to get your arms around that, because as we work through this passage, we see strange crowd reactions and we see the word "disciple" used in a variety of ways.
Setting Out Across the Sea
So here we go. On that day, when evening had come, He said, "Let us go across to the other side." Now, if you go to the back of your Bibles, there is —
Jonah out on dry land. I love that story. And chapter 3 verse 1, and then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. God doesn't give up. He's the hound of heaven. He pursues His people.
Now turn back to Mark chapter 4, because there are remarkable similarities here. In both stories, you have a boat, you have a storm, you have someone asleep, you have terrified sailors. But here's the difference: in Jonah's case, Jonah is running from God. In Mark's case, the disciples are with God. And yet the storm comes anyway. Why? Because God is doing something in them. The storm is for their benefit.
The Sea of Galilee and the Storm
Let me give you some geography first, because it will help you understand what's happening. If you have a map section in the back of your Bible, find the one labeled "The Ministry of Jesus" or "The Time of Christ," and locate Palestine. In the north of that map you will see the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is about 13 miles long and as much as 8 miles wide. At this point in the story, Jesus is at the northwest part of the lake, near Capernaum, and He tells the disciples they are going to get in the boat and travel southwest about five miles.
That doesn't sound like a long journey, but here is what you need to know about the Sea of Galilee. It sits 628 feet below sea level, surrounded by mountains and ravines. The terrain creates an atmosphere that is very conducive to massive windstorms — almost like a wind tunnel as the wind moves through there. That is exactly what you see in Mark chapter 4.
They are in the boat. Jesus has left the crowd. Verse 36 tells us there are other boats with Him — a kind of armada gathered together. Then verse 37: "And a great windstorm arose." The word used to describe this windstorm is the word from which we get the English concept behind the word "seismograph" — the water is shaking. These men are in an open boat, the kind of vessel that Peter, James, and John would have used for fishing. It is a small craft, but these are men who have been on these waters before. They have seen storms. This is not new to them. And yet there is something extraordinary about this one.
It comes up suddenly. It is moving the ship violently. The waves are breaking into the boat so that it is already filling with water. The Greek indicates that these waves were continuously crashing against the vessel — relentless, not stopping. The boat is starting to fill. The disciples are afraid.
Jesus Asleep in the Stern
But Jesus, verse 38, is in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They wake Him and say to Him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"
We are going to stay right here for a while and unpack all of this. Here is what I want you to see: this storm, though they do not yet realize it, is for their benefit.
Those of you who were with us at summer camp will remember that we studied the book of Jonah there. And when we studied that book, we made the point that the main character in the book of Jonah was not Jonah. It was not the sailors. It was not the fish. The main character was God.
Parallels with the Book of Jonah
Turn to Jonah, just to the left in your Bible into the Minor Prophets, and keep your finger in Mark because we will be right back. When I was studying for this message, I found my mind drifting again and again to the story of Jonah and its similarities to what we are looking at in Mark chapter 4.
Look at Jonah chapter 1. The word of the Lord came to Jonah: go to Nineveh. And Jonah heads in exactly the opposite direction — he goes to Tarshish. Verse 4: "The Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up." And the sailors were afraid. It is the same scenario.
God causes this storm to take place in Jonah's life. Why? Because God is — do you remember the phrase we used? — He is the hound of heaven. He is relentless. God will pursue His people. And just as in Jonah's case, and just as in the case we are looking at in Mark chapter 4, when storms come into your life, they are for your benefit, though they may not look like it at the time.
The sailors are afraid, and Jonah is asleep below deck. The captain goes down to him and says, "Jonah, how can you be asleep?" Jonah comes up on deck, and they ask him, "Who are you? Where did you come from?" In verse 9, Jonah answers: "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land." Then the men were exceedingly afraid.
They were already afraid of the storm. Now they are afraid not of Jonah, but of Jonah's God — even though they do not believe in Him. Verse 5 told us that when the storm came, each of the sailors prayed to his own god, whatever god he was worshiping. But when they hear that Jonah is a Hebrew, something shifts. They have heard about this God. They understand His story. They understand His might and power. They know He is the God who parted the Red Sea, brought water from the rock, and provided food from heaven. And they say to Jonah, "Jonah, what are you doing? Why are you running from Him? What should we do?"
And Jonah says, "Throw me overboard." They refuse. They row and row and row, and finally they cannot withstand it any longer. They pick him up and throw him into the sea. Verse 17 of chapter 1: "And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah." Jonah is in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Then verse 10 of chapter 2: "And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land."
Chapter 3, verse 1: "Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time." God does not give up. He is the hound of heaven. He pursues His people.
Storms Are Part of Spiritual Growth
Jonah is cast onto dry land, and now he heads to Nineveh. If you are reading the newspaper or watching television about the Iraq War and you hear the town of Mosul in northern Iraq, that is Nineveh. Jonah finally goes to Nineveh — and this is really important — 600,000 people, the entire city, probably at that time the largest city in the world, are converted. It is probably the largest single revival in the history of man.
And what is Jonah's response? He is angry, he is mad, nothing makes him happy. He says, "Why don't you kill me?" — three, four, five times. He is never happy, until finally in verse six, the Lord appoints a plant to cover Jonah and shade his head, saving him from his discomfort, and Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. 600,000 people saved — he is mad. A plant — he is happy. God appointed the plant, but in verse seven He appoints a worm to attack the plant, and in verse eight He appoints the wind.
Here is the application for you and me. These storms come into our lives, either caused by or allowed by God, but all for our own benefit. Kent Hughes writes these words: "They had no way at this terrible moment" — talking about the disciples in the boat — "of knowing it, but that miserable storm was a vehicle for teaching them about God and His power in their lives. The storm was essential to their spiritual development." He goes on: "Here we see a principle of universal and spiritual application. Without difficulties, trials, stresses, afflictions, even failures, we would never grow to be what we should become. Storms are part of the process of spiritual growth."
This is hugely important. James says in James chapter one, "Consider it all joy when you encounter various trials, because the testing of your faith produces endurance." Paul writes in Romans chapter five, verse three, "And not only this, but we also exalt in our tribulation, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance."
Three Testimonies on a Single Morning
Into your life come things you would never choose. This morning I spoke with three different people who had no idea what I was teaching. All three of them said the same thing. I asked how things were going, and one said, "I'm having the most difficult time I've ever been through in my life." Another said they had gone through a very difficult time. And all three said exactly the same thing: "I wouldn't have chosen it, I wouldn't trade it for the world — God got my attention and drew me closer to Him in the midst of it." I heard that story three times this morning. I hear it all the time.
You may be a student here who has experienced the pain of watching your parents go through a divorce, and you are caught in the middle, hurting and hurting and hurting. But in the midst of that, there is a sense in which God begins to work in your life. All of a sudden He shows you: there will be times when people will fail you, but you can count on Him — and you will learn an extraordinary lesson. You may be a businessman who has hit a financial hardship you would never have chosen. Maybe it is an emotional hardship, or whatever it is — here comes this challenge. Why would God allow this in your life? Because He gets your attention.
"Don't You Care?"
Now look at the disciples' response in the boat. What do they say in verse 38? "Don't you care about us? Don't you care that we're perishing?" Is that the way you respond? Here comes the hardship, and you are saying, "God, where are You? God, how come You don't care about me?" The implication is this: if You really loved me, I would never have this hardship. If You really loved me, there would never be a difficulty. If You really loved me, there would never be any pain in my life.
Here is what I am here to tell you. Scripture teaches exactly the opposite. Because He loves you, there will be pain in your life — because the only way you will grow in your faith is to have challenges, difficulty, affliction, hardship, disappointment, hurt, and pain. Some of you cannot even get your arms around that.
The Illusion of Being the Exception
I talk about this all the time. I meet with couples before their weddings, and we go through the same exercise every time. We talk about vows, and when we are standing up front I ask: "Do you take this person for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" And they say, "I do." But in their minds they are thinking, "We are not going to have any of that. I know other couples have had struggles, but we are the exception."
I do the same thing with students as often as I can. I feel like a grumpy old man, but I try to tell them over and over again — you have to look into the future. There was a man in the church who turned 30, and those of us who were older were asked to write him a note with some advice. So I wrote a note. After all the typical spiritual counsel, I said: if I could give you one piece of advice, here is what I would tell you — pursue delayed gratification.
Pursue Long-Term Thinking
Pursue delayed gratification. Understand that this is a long haul, my friend. If you are living for yourself and for now — for this moment, this joy, this pleasure, this excitement, this happiness — if you are going to do this drug, or have this sex, or lie in this deal for the expediency of making the deal, if you are going to buy that cheap thrill, that moment thrill, I am not saying it will not be fun. Sin is fun. If you do not think sin is fun, you are not doing it right. Sin is fun — for a season. But then it grows weary. Then it takes more.
Remember what we said at summer camp? It takes you further than you want to go. It keeps you longer than you want to stay. It costs you more than you want to pay. You have got to think long-term, and that is really hard to do.
Why God Sends Storms
So in comes these storms, and my immediate reaction is, "God, what are You doing? Why would You bring this to me?" Look at me — Bible man. Here you are on Sunday, following, serious about your faith. "God, I have done everything right." And here is what makes this even more difficult: if you look around and see your friends who do not seem to be having any problems at all — they do not care about God, they do not care about the Bible, they do not care about Jesus or anything — and you are saying, "God, what are You doing?"
Here is what He is doing. He is helping you grow. If you have any sense at all, you are saying, "Listen, I am serious about You. We are in this relationship. I am truly converted. I want to follow You. God, I want to grow. I want to make this real." You do not want some abstract faith, do you? That is what I hear all the time — we want genuine, authentic, real faith. If you want to make your faith real, a key component is that you have got to suffer. You have got to have hurt, and you have got to have pain.
Now, I am not suggesting you go out arbitrarily and start flogging yourself. There is enough pain that will find you. You do not have to go and create the moment. It is because He loves them that He allows this to happen. Go back to Jonah. Why does God pursue him — the hound of heaven? Because He loves Jonah. He cares for Jonah. He is going to use Jonah in a marvelous way. Why the storm? Why the belly of the fish? Why all the suffering and pain? Because Jonah is God's guy. And if you are God's guy, God's gal, truly converted, then that is coming in your life too.
Peace, Be Still
Your response is not to be overtaken by fear. Look again at verse 38. They wake Him up. He has had a hard day, a long day. By the way, so have these disciples — they have had an equally difficult day, but they are so afraid they cannot sleep. They wake Him up. Verse 39: "He awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm." "Be still" literally means "be muzzled."
One of the authors, Ray Stedman, says this — let me just read it to you. He said: "When the account says that the Lord rebuked the wind and spoke to the sea, 'Be muzzled, be quiet,' we need to understand that He wasn't really speaking to the elements. After all, what good does it do to address the air as it's flowing by, or speak to the water that's raging? We must never forget that we live in a fallen world, and as the scripture tells us, the whole world is in the grip of the devil and his agents — and that includes the physical world as well. Behind the disasters we so frequently read of, and sometimes experience, it is oftentimes an attack of Satan."
That is what Paul says in Ephesians chapter 6 — our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, wicked spirits in high places. If you go back to Mark chapter 1, verse 21, Jesus encounters a demonized man and the demon begins to speak. What Jesus says to him, interestingly enough, is the same thing He says to the sea: "Be still."
Two Mistakes About Satan
You can make two mistakes when we talk about the devil, Satan, and evil — two extremes. The first is to say he does not even exist. I saw a poll two or three years ago — I cannot find my notes on it — but it was taken among those who say they are born-again Christians, and a huge number, something like 60 or 70 percent of them, said they do not believe Satan is real. Satan has got to love that. It is one thing if you know he is out there and you are on guard. But if you do not know he is there, you are just walking along, unaware, and then — bam. That is what makes scary movies scary. When you see a battle or a race, that is not frightening. What is frightening is when the man is in the house minding his own business, and the camera shows the view from outside — someone lurking, and he does not even know. That is the first extreme: Jesus is real, but Satan does not exist.
Here is the other extreme: you see him everywhere, behind everything. I was watching television one night — I am not going to give you the man's name because I would feel bad doing so — but he was on Christian television being interviewed. The interviewer asked what was going on, and he said, "Satan was really out to get me today." I thought, that would be an interesting story. The interviewer said, "What happened?" He said, "Well, my grandson was over, and I got on my grandson's bike and started riding it, and I was going faster and faster —"
The Miracle of Immediate Calm
Here is the miracle: the wind ceases and there is calm immediately. The miracle is not that it stopped, because eventually the storm would have stopped and the sea would have been calm, but it is the timing. As the wind blows over the sea, even when the wind stops, the sea is still rolling, the waves are still crashing — but immediately, all at once, it was done.
The evidence here is that He is God. The evidence is that He is the Creator. Colossians 1:16 says, "For by him all things were created, things in heaven and earth, visible, invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authority, he is before all things and in him all things hold together." The Creator has control over the creation.
So the disciples cried out, "Why are you letting us perish?" He rose, said "Peace, be still," and there was calm.
Two Questions from Jesus
Now we have a teaching moment. Jesus asked two questions: "Why are you so afraid? You still have no faith." Let me ask you the same question tonight — what are you afraid of?
It is all sorts of different things. Some of you are afraid of not having enough money and getting by. Some of you are afraid of suffering, pain, and hardship. Some of you are afraid of failure — you perform at extraordinary levels, driven not so much by a desire for success as by a fear of failure.
Some of you are not afraid of being alone, but of loneliness — even though you are in a room here with 800 people, you are saying, "But I am all alone." For some of you, August 10th is going to be a tough day, because you are going back to school and wondering: will I be accepted, or will I be rejected? One of the things that drives me — I do not call it fear, but I am concerned about it — is living an insignificant life, then simply dying and it being no big deal. Born in 1949, died in 2050. Insignificant. No big deal.
Whatever it is you are afraid of, the antidote to it is faith.
Faith Is the Answer to Fear
As I read this story, I did not make this point this morning, but when you teach something four times, you begin to notice things you had not thought of before. These men seemed to have a reason to be afraid. If you were on that boat — or to put it in a modern context, if you were on a plane, and all of a sudden a storm was all around you, with the wings flexing as you looked out the window, and the plane was pitching and diving — you would be afraid. I can understand why they were afraid.
Yet Jesus seems to chastise them for that fear. Why? Because He is saying: where is your faith? What are you afraid of — drowning? So you drowned. Absent from the body, present with the Lord.
That is what is going on in your life and mine. He has us right where He wants us. He has either caused or allowed everything that comes into your life, and your response is to believe in Him. When you say you are afraid, what you are saying is, "I don't trust You." When you say you are afraid, you are saying, "I don't believe You, God" — because He says, "I will never leave you, I will never forsake you." He says, look at the care I gave to the lilies of the field. Look at the great care I take of the birds — and you are more important than they are. What are you afraid of?
Faith is the response. Faith is the answer. The faith we mean here is not the faith that saved you — not coming in repentance and faith for salvation — but believing that this book was written and is true, and that we can trust God in all these circumstances. It is obeying Him.
Satan Is Not Behind Every Little Thing
Before we move on, there is a balance worth noting. Satan is real, and he is out to attack. His demons are out to attack, and there is a war in your flesh. But he is not behind every little thing.
I will give you an example from my own life. I was riding a bike, going faster and faster, and I came to a hill. I was going faster and faster down it, and all at once it dawned on me — I did not know how to stop this bike. I was used to one of those old-fashioned bikes where you stop by pushing the pedals back, but this one did not work that way. I was pushing and nothing was there. I was flying down this hill, streets and cars were coming the other way, and I had no idea what to do. I tried to slow it with the hand brakes, but finally there was nothing I could do, and I just dumped the bike and dove into the hill.
Now, was Satan out to get me? No. The problem was that I was an idiot. If you get on a bike, fly down a hill as fast as you can, and do not know how to stop it, that is not spiritual warfare — that is stupidity. Satan was probably thinking, "I do not need to mess around with him. He is going to take care of himself."
So there are the two extremes. Satan is real and active, and his demons attack, and there is a war in your flesh — but he is not behind every little stumble you make.
Faith in Practice: Trusting the Computer
My kids introduced me to a website. I will tell you right now — do not ever go on this website. Do not go near it. It is addictinggames.com. Do not touch it.
So there I was, playing hearts last night with three people who were clearly taking forever to play. I won and moved on, and while browsing I found checkers. I cannot remember the last time I played checkers, but I thought I would give it a try. The idea of losing to a stranger on the other end was not something I wanted, so I decided to play the computer for a while first, just to get my checker skills back.
The Storm God Ordains
God is saying, here is all I want to do: I want to click on you, and I want to move you to the next square. He is not saying He wants you to be a robot. He wants you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice. He wants you to pray, "God, I want you to do whatever it is you need to do. Whatever you need to do, you do it. God, I want you to do with me whatever you want." And He says, "Fine," and He puts you right in a storm.
Then you think, "I didn't mean this. I meant somewhere nice and pretty and happy." He puts you in the storm, and it becomes easy to slide into, "God, who are you? Why would you do this?" And He is saying, "Because I love you and I want to see you grow."
Suffering is a great revealer. I have been watching Susan, and she has had a pretty tough week. If you are the praying kind, you should be praying for her, because the doctor tells us the next two weeks are going to be the toughest two weeks we have had through all of this.
Somebody said to me, "What have you learned out of all this?" And I said, "Here is what I have learned: I have learned how selfish I am." I am watching her, and I honestly do not know how she does it — physically, emotionally, I do not know how she does it. God strengthens her. God is the One who strengthens you.
So when you are in the middle of whatever your circumstances are and you are afraid, I want you to remember this: God either caused or allowed whatever these circumstances are, and He did it for you — not because He hates you, but because He loves you. You have been saying you want to grow, and this is how you grow.
Awe in the Aftermath
Look at the disciples' reaction as we close. Verse 31 says they were then filled with great fear. This is a different kind of fear than before. They were afraid of the circumstances in the storm, but this fear is awe. They were afraid of the circumstances; now they are in awe of God and who He is. That is exactly what those circumstances teach us.
I must have heard the word "awesome" five hundred thousand times at summer camp. God's awesome. This is awesome. The ocean's awesome. Everything's awesome. Here is what is really awesome: this is God. That is what the disciples encountered, and that is what the storm brings us to.
Classroom and Laboratory
We had the marriage conference last week down in Tucson, and as I was there, I kept thinking it was very much like summer camp. At summer camp you watch the closeness, the friendships, all of it — it is a great time. And I see the same thing at the marriage conference: couples walking around holding hands, looking after one another.
Here is the point we make every year at summer camp. When you take a science class, there are two parts: the classroom and the laboratory. The marriage conference, like summer camp, is the classroom. This — real life — is the laboratory. I do not know if what someone shares in front of a microphone about how God has radically changed their life is real until I see it lived out here. And I do not know if it is real until the storms come.
The Little Things
Here is a tip before we close. When I think of a storm, I think of something great and overwhelming — but it usually is not the great big things that undo us. I find most people can handle the great big things. It is the little, tiny things that get us.
Susan and I had not been married maybe two weeks. We were in the car, stopped at a red light, and I cracked my knuckles. She said, "Oh, don't do that. I can't stand it." I said, "Wait a minute. We dated all this time and you never said anything. I would have never married you if I had known this. You can't stand me cracking my knuckles? Why would you keep this a secret? Let me tell you something — I have got a lot of bodily functions worse than this that I am going to introduce you to over the next couple of months. It is not going to get better. It is going to get worse."
We were lying on our L-shaped couch just yesterday. I thought she was asleep, and my hand was really stiff, so I cracked it. She said, "Oh, don't do that. It drives me nuts." It drives me crazy too. Isn't that something? It is the little things — that is what we are talking about.
Fear That Frees
In come these storms — maybe a little breeze, maybe a hurricane. What they do is reveal your character and who you are, and they build your faith. The antidote to whatever you're afraid of is fear. The antidote is fear. There's a fear that paralyzes, but then there's a fear that frees. It's the fear — the awe — of God and who He is.
There's a fear that puts us in bondage, and then there's a fear that frees us. All of a sudden we are in awe of God. These songs that we sing — I love to watch you sing them, and I love to sing them with you — we sing about our King and His greatness and who He is. That fear of Him frees us to live life as it was meant to be. Isn't that a great truth?
Responding to God's Word
When we leave this place, we understand that everything God wants us to do, He has told us in this book. We simply do the things He tells us to do and avoid the things He tells us to avoid. But before we leave, we will respond right here.
We are going to respond with worship. We are going to respond with taking communion. Part of worship and response is also giving, and you have the opportunity to do that now. This is a time to respond.
For some of you, maybe this is the first time you have been in this service, and our response is a little less structured than perhaps in the morning. As you look around, you will see communion trays at the front and on the sides. As Matthew and the band come back, we are going to ask you to respond — to go ahead and take communion as your heart is ready and prepared.