How To Weather Life’s Storms

Amen. Well, our guest preacher for today is Doug Myers from Bethany Baptist Church up in Stockton. I believe many of you have gotten a chance to meet Doug once before. So welcome again, Doug. Thank you for bringing us the Word.

Good afternoon, everyone. Hope that you had a delicious lunch. Yeah, I'll be catching something to eat after the service with my wife. I'm grateful to be here again and grateful for the opportunity to speak to you.

The Setting for Mark 4:35-41

I'd like to have us open the Scripture to Mark 4, verses 35 -41 is what we'll be looking at. So turn there, Mark 4, verses 35 -41. And if we can, in honor of God's Word, can we stand, please, as we read Holy Scripture?

Verse 35. And on that day when evening had come, he said to them, let us go over to the other side. Leaving the multitude, they took him along with them, just as he was in the boat, and other boats were with him.

And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. And he himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they awoke him and said to him, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?

And being aroused, he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, hush, be still. And the wind died down, and it became perfectly calm. And he said to them, why are you so timid? How is it that you have no faith?

And they became very much afraid and said to one another, who is this that even the wind and the seas obey him? This is God's Word for God's people. Let's pray. Father, we are grateful again for your Word, which you have preserved for your saints over the ages.

We even now, Lord, invoke and pray for the blessing of the Holy Spirit upon the reading and upon the preaching, that you may be pleased, Lord, to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts and in our minds, that we may get from this passage a glimpse of His glory, and that you may be pleased, Lord, also to allow us to see what it is that we can do and how we are to respond to the storms, to the problems, the trials, and the tribulations that we have or will face in our lives.

So be pleased, Lord, to open our eyes that we may behold wonderful things from thy law. For again, we ask it in the name of our blessed Savior, and together say, Amen, and please be seated. Well, this afternoon, I wanted to talk to us about how to weather life's storms.

Now some of us may be going through, quote, unquote, a storm right now. It may be a storm that's on horizon. You can see it coming. You know, there are kind of black clouds, and it might be an emotional storm.

There might be some deep discouragement, some anxiety, maybe some paralyzing depression. Life may be seeming like it's closing in. We might be experiencing a relational storm. We might be having a difficulty in a close relationship, maybe in our marriage.

It might be unresolved anger toward a family member, a coworker, a neighbor. We have health storms that we have to deal with at times, ongoing struggles with pain or maybe some kind of a disease. Not too long ago, my wife and I, we had a health storm in our family.

My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. So there might be some physical suffering. It might be a financial storm, a loss of income. It may be that we don't have enough money to pay bills. We might be on the verge of bankruptcy.

Or we might be experiencing a spiritual storm, maybe doubting our faith or questioning God's sovereignty in a particular situation. Does He care? Does He love? We might be under some kind of a spiritual attack.

No matter what kind of storm we may be facing, and there are all kinds of storms in this life, in our passage this morning, I just very simply want us to see how we can weather those storms. How do we weather life's storms?

And I think that this passage is going to teach us one very simple point. So if we don't remember everything that I say this morning, maybe we can just kind of tuck this away in our own hearts and minds.

And I hope it doesn't sound too trite, but here it is. Here's the main point. We can weather any storm when Jesus is in our boat. Or if I put it another way, with faith firmly fixed in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can endure and persevere in life's trials, tribulations, and temptations.

We can weather any storm in this life. And so as we work our way through the text, we're going to glean, I hope, five life lessons. Five very simple, very basic lessons about how to weather life's storms.

So let's set the context. Jesus and His disciples have just completed an extensive evangelistic campaign. They're tired, they're worn out, they've been healing and preaching and there's been a lot of activity.

And so they need some time for rest, for spiritual debriefing, if you will, for a time to be renewed and refreshed. And so Jesus directs them to leave the area that they're in. And so we read again in verse 35, when evening had come, He said to them, let's go over to the other side.

So we're going to stop there and just for a minute recognize that Jesus is definitely, without question, going to get the disciples and those that are traveling with them to the other side of this lake.

They're going to the other side of the lake no matter what happens on the lake. Nothing's going to change that. They're going to the other side. So they launch out from the western side of the Sea of Galilee, which the Sea of Galilee is configured sort of like a bowl.

It's a basin and it's surrounded by some mountains. And so that's how it's configured and at times cold air and warm air will collide over the Sea of Galilee. And when it does, it will whip up the waves, there'll be a lot of wind and so forth, strong gusts of wind, and it can whip up the lake in a fury real quick.

It can become violent and deadly. So they launch out in their fishing boats. The sea is calm. They're sailing along. Jesus settles into the back of the boat, into the bow of the boat. He's tired and so He falls asleep.

The boat's gently rocking back and forth and they're traveling across the lake. If you can picture it, He just finds a cushion, the Scripture says, and falls asleep. And then we read in verse 37,. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much so that it was already filling up.

And so the boat is being swamped, filling up with water, and they are in real danger of sinking. These are men, these are experienced fishermen who understand what's happening. And they know they're in great danger.

They're seasoned fishermen. They can see that the boat is filling up with water. And so they're in trouble. But they obeyed His will. They got in the boat. They were traveling. They hit the storm. And here's the first life lesson.

There'll be five of them, and I'll go through them fairly quickly. Here's the first life lesson. Number one, if you're taking notes. Obeying Jesus means that we will encounter life's storms. Jesus tells His men, we're going to the other side.

They don't question His decision. They're experienced fishermen, but they just prepare the boat and travel across the lake. And so at His direction, these men obey His will. And this is a good lesson for us, because there are times when obeying God's will means that we are definitely going to encounter some trials and some tribulations, some storms.

If we're uncompromising in our life, if we're obeying the Spirit and the Word, then we're going to encounter some bad weather at times. And here's another fact. Storms can't be avoided. So they got into their little boat.

They set sail, and pretty soon, here come the wind. Here comes the wind and the waves. And the same is true for us. We get in our little boat of life, and we're traveling down a river or on the lake, and it's smooth sailing for a while.

And then, bam, the winds of adversity hit us. And there are times of temptation and suffering, and we're buffeted back and forth, and our boat feels like it's filling up with all these problems. Peter tells us this, just to kind of put it into perspective.

Peter tells us in 1 Peter 4, 12, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you. So we really shouldn't be surprised by life's storms.

It's part of life, fiery ordeals, hardships. Sometimes they can become overwhelming and terrifying, and they can leave us feeling desperate and hopeless and helpless. And this is exactly what these disciples are experiencing.

But yet, they don't yet realize that this storm has a purpose. And that's the second point I want to draw from this passage. This is a second life lesson. Storms have a purpose. What are we going through right now?

What are you going through? It has a purpose. When God allows serious problems, a crisis, deep hurt, chronic pain, a serious failure, setbacks in our life we think we'll never recover from, God has a purpose.

So there's nothing meaningless in our trials or our suffering as a believer. And from our passage, I just want us to glean two purposes for life's storms. Again, look at verse 38. The boat's sinking. The disciples are frantic, and they're desperate.

So they wake Jesus up, and they ask Him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? So they cry out to Jesus. And that's one of the purposes of storms in our lives. They teach us. Storms teach us to cry out to Jesus.

When we feel like our boat's sinking, what should we do? Cry out to the Lord. Oh, Lord Jesus, save me. I know you are with me in my boat. I feel like I'm floundering. Save me. I feel like I'm going under.

I can't take the pressure. I'm confused. I'm overwhelmed. I'm in a panic. Psalm 3417 is a life verse for me. And it's a verse for all of us. The Lord, the Scripture says, the righteous cry, and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

The Lord's ear is attentive to the cries of His people. And here's the second purpose for storms. Not only do they teach us to cry out, but they also teach us that Jesus cares. So the Lord Jesus is peacefully sleeping in the back of the boat while the storm is raging around Him.

And the boat is filling up with water. And they awaken Him from that sleep. And they want to know, does He care? He's sleeping and they're sinking. And they want to know, Lord, do you care? And of course, they know He cares.

And we might have the same reaction in the midst of our storms. Lord, I know you care. And I'm floundering in the sea of troubles here. And I feel like I'm going under. I know you care. I know you are with me in my suffering, but I need you to rescue me.

And that's what these disciples are asking for. Do you not care that we are perishing? And Jesus cares so much, the Lord Jesus cares so much that after they awaken Him, He rebukes the wind and the surging waves.

And they stopped and it became very calm. Jesus performed a mighty wonder. This is a mighty wonder. The sea is raging and He rebuked the wind and the waves and it becomes perfectly calm. So how much does Jesus care?

Beloved church, the Lord Jesus loves and cares for His people so much that if He desires, He will perform a miracle. He will do mighty wonders to demonstrate it. Let's not doubt that for one second. Storms have a purpose and storms teach us to cry out to Jesus and they teach us that Jesus cares.

Verse 39, again, just drawing our attention to this passage, the wind and the surging waves stopped and it became calm. So here's the third life lesson. Are you ready? Jesus, the Lord Jesus, is in control of storms.

Jesus is in control of our storms. Though the disciples didn't fully realize it yet, in their boat was the Creator God, God the Son. One theologian wrote this. There's not one square inch in the whole domain of human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry, mine.

It's all mine, I control it. The purpose of this storm was to clearly demonstrate Jesus' divine power, His divine nature, to calm their fears, to calm the storm, yes, to show that He cares, yes, but there was a greater lesson for the disciples.

You are walking with, you are disciples of the divine Son of the living God. They'll realize it later, more fully, but one thing that we realize is that the Lord is sovereign over our storms, over our pain, over our problems, over life's trials and tribulations.

He's sovereign over those, and He has unquestioned, uncontested authority over everything that happens in our lives. Again, like one man said, I think it was R .C. Sproul, he said there isn't one molecule in the entire cosmos that's out there doing its own thing.

It's all under God's sovereign control. We are not in control of the storms, the devil's not in control of life, of our problems, and the things that are allowed into our lives. The Lord controls everything that comes into our lives.

Verse 40, so after reviewing the storm, Jesus says to the men, and here's the lesson. We're gonna get to the lesson. Here's the lesson, life lesson number four. Faith in the Lord Jesus gets you through the storm, amen?

What does He say to the disciples? What's the question? Why is it that you have no faith? Did you catch it? After calming the storm, what did the Lord Jesus do? He addresses their faith, their lack of faith.

For Jesus, really, the storm wasn't the issue. The issue was their lack of faith, and so Jesus asked, what happened to your faith? See, our problems, our trials, our storms, our tribulations, our pain, the pressures of life, et cetera, they test our faith, and they're designed by God to refine our faith, but here's our problem.

In the midst of the storm, we focus on the storm. That's what we do. We focus on the storm, and the scripture says to focus our faith on the Lord Jesus Christ, not on the storm. We fix our eyes on who?

Jesus, who is the author and perfecter of our faith. We fix our eyes on Jesus, not the storm. Storms are meant to test our faith. They're meant to purify our faith, mature our faith, but not to destroy our faith.

James 1, James says there, consider it all. Join my brothers when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, and that endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

So they are meant, the storms of life are meant to sanctify us, to purify us, to mature our faith. Then we read in verse 39, and this is the last of our life lessons. Storms will pass. Our storms will pass.

Verse 39 says it became perfectly calm. After rebuking the wind and the surging waves, the sea became calm, the storm passed. Everything calmed down, and they will for us. See, that's the point, they will for us.

Things will calm down. They may not completely in this life, but they will in eternity. And so the disciples experienced and witnessed this wondrous, mighty act of Jesus' authority and power to calm the raging sea, and here is their response.

Here's their response, verse 41. They became very much afraid and said to one another, who is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? They forgot all about the storm, or at least it was a, they were quickly forgot, and now they are in awe of this man who can control the wind and the waves, who can calm a raging sea.

A companion verse passage from this story is found in Psalm 107, verses 28 and 29. Who can do this? They ask, what kind of man is this? Well, Psalm 107 answers. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distresses.

He caused the storm to be still, so that the waves of the sea were hushed. They didn't realize it, but God the Son was in their midst. In just moments earlier, they were in a panic, and they were terrified, and they were fearful, but now they had witnessed the divine power and authority of Jesus, and now they're amazed and fearful in his presence.

And I think that tells us when we see the Lord bring us through a storm, there should be a sense of awe and worship and praise and thanksgiving. During the storm, and certainly after our storms, it's our opportunity to reflect deeply on the God who hears our cries and saves us.

Psalm 50, verse 15 says this. Call upon the Lord in the day of trouble. And I will answer you, and you will honor me. So we call upon the Lord, he rescues us, he saves us, we honor and praise him, and the Lord Jesus Christ just becomes more magnified, more reverenced in our hearts and in our minds as we experience his power and his grace to guide us through life's storms.

Christ Has Overcome the World

I want us to just take a moment now to go to prayer. If you'll join me in prayer. And I don't know, you may be experiencing something right now, or again, something just pressing in upon us, but let's take a moment just to take in this truth.

In his farewell address, the Lord Jesus said, in the world you have tribulation, but take courage. I have overcome the world. Lord Jesus, thank you. We praise you, we thank you, and we give you all honor and glory and praise for ultimately, as you have promised, and you have declared, I have overcome the world.

You overcame the world by your peerless, impeccable, perfect life, sinless life. You overcame the world at the cross where you offered your life. You overcame the world, sin and the devil, when you rose again on the third day.

You overcame the world when you rose and are now seated at the right hand of the Father where you ever live to make intercession for us. Thank you, Lord. Thank you that, Lord, with you in our boats, we can weather life's storms.

We offer our prayer humbly and gratefully in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.