Storms

"The ocean is an object of no small terror." -Edmund Burke 

And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.  And they went and woke him, saying,"Save us, Lord; we are perishing." And he said to them, "why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.   

Matthew 8:24-26 

It's easy to read these words and think, "Now isn't that a really cool Bible story" and then move on.  Let's take a deeper look.  Simon, Andrew, James and John are all fishermen, and they were very familiar with the weather on the Sea of Galilee.  They grew up on the sea; it was their home.   And, they have no doubt seen their share of storms from the inside of a fishing boat. 

Matthew, the author of this gospel, was there the night this storm hit their little boat.  He penned the words, "we are perishing." That doesn't mean, "help us, we might die."  These career fishermen were gripped by a convincing fear their very life was slipping away. 

Then Jesus tells the wind and waves to stop, and they do.   

What would you do if you were there? How would you feel? One might think you would shout for joy, and cheer that your life was saved.  However, after witnessing the sheer power and might of Jesus, all they could do was marvel. Jesus, who by just speaking a word, caused this terror inducing tempest to come to a full stop.   In Mark's telling of this story, likely a first-hand account given by Simon Peter, he writes that after Jesus calmed the storm "they were filled with great fear."  

Fast forward a year or so and we find the disciples back in a fishing boat, full of fear again.  This time however, Jesus isn't with them.  In fact, they think that he is gone for good. 

Simon Peter watched Jesus hang on the cross, as the rooster crowed in the background.  John held Jesus' weeping mother while they looked up at Him drawing his final breath. 

The dream was over; their hope was gone. Jesus was dead, and they were alone. With no Messiah left to follow, they went back to what they knew...fishing. They returned to the same body of water where they once marveled and trembled in fear at the power of their Lord...the Sea of Galilee.  

But on that sea, three days after all hope was lost, their very much alive, risen Savior was waiting for them on the beach. It was there once again, on the Sea of Galilee, that the fear and awe of Jesus came back. It was there that hope was restored, and it was there that they knew they would never be alone again.  

Two storms.  One full of wind, waves, and fear.  The other of heartache, doubt, and loneliness.  Two very different storms, but storms none the less. 

In one storm, Jesus is in the boat, calming the fears with a word; In the other, He is on the shore, waiting to remove fear with His presence. 

So what about your storm, what about your fears?

Know that Jesus is in the boat with you, riding it out by your side.  Do you feel alone? He is just on the shore, beckoning you to come near, for comfort and peace. 

Just like He was for the disciples, He is right there where you need Him the most.  He wants to calm your fear, and strengthen your faith. 

Storms are never quiet.  Wind and waves are just as loud as loneliness and doubt.  But His voice can be heard through both. 

"Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”