Mark 4:35-41
"That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, 'Let us go over to the other side.' Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, 'Teacher, don't you care if we drown?' He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, 'Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?' They were terrified and asked each other, Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!'"
When you read these words, I pray that God would penetrate your hearts and that you would grab onto what He is giving you tonight.
And let's face it, life has its rough patches, life isn't all hunky dory. Jesus told us that "in this world, you will have trouble." But then He follows with this amazing statement: "But take heart! I have overcome the world." I acknowledge with you that life is hard sometimes, and I won't say "boo hoo get over it." That's not what these words are for. I want you to see that sometimes there needs to be a perspective shift in our lives; sometimes it's incredibly necessary to shift our gaze. The disciples were freaking out, they were like, "Jesus!! What the heck?! Did you call us only to kill us?" Legitimately, they were terrified, this was no spring rain storm. It was a furious squall. But what Jesus says causes my heart to stir and even to stop and be still. "Peace, be still!... Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt? Do you still have little faith?" Jesus wasn't condemning His disciples but was rather asking them, "Don't you know that I have everything under control?" I wish to convey to you this very message: In the face of all of the chaos and the storms of life, God wants you to know that He is in control; everything comes to your doorstep has had to bow its knee to the Father. He has a purpose in the storms and in the peace of life.
Four years ago, February 24, 2007 I went to this amazing conference called Acquire the Fire. It was in a time of my life that God began to really spark a fire in my heart, to have a passion for Him and His purposes on this earth. But something else was happening to my world while I was there. On the night of the 24th, my grandmother passed away. Talk about something to begin a storm, eh? Not only that, though, my other grandma (my father's mother) passed away five weeks later. It was such a stinkin' rough time in my life. At first, I was like, "God why?! Why do I have to go through all of this? I don't understand!" But God has an amazing way of meeting me in the midst of my storms (and even so, in the storms of your lives as well). The following Wednesday, I was walking home from school and I couldn't even feel the cold air that was blowing that day, I wasn't in a good place. However, I was listening to a song called "The Last Night" by Skillet and immediately as the lyrics "I will wrap you in My arms and never let go" I felt God's arms wrap around me and say "It's all gonna be okay." It was in that moment that His peace and His love had begin to minister to my heart.
You see, from every situation that may be a storm in our lives, God cares so much for us to know that He has everything under control. I'm sure you've heard or seen the nice quote of "Don't tell God how big your storm is, tell the storm how big your God is." As pat answer that might be, it's so freakin essential to our lives! Sometimes we lose focus on which really is in control, the storm or its Maker. "I lift my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth," says Psalm 121. I can't tell you how many times I've lost focus and have focused far too much on the storm of my life, no matter how large or small it might be. And it's in those times that I have the least amount of peace in my life; what's the point in focusing on the thing that is shaking up my peace instead of on the One who gives me peace that surpasses all understanding? Sometimes we have to remember which is in control, the storm or its Maker. I'm here to tell you that God is always, always, always, always, ALWAYS in control! There has never been a moment when His sovereignty has been compromised. Ever. Listen to my heart: I'm not condemning you for losing focus, that happens to all of us. What I want for you, and me, to learn is that when there are storms going on, we need to "lift our eyes to the hills" because we find out where our help comes from: God! Our heavenly Father! The One who loves us with such a deep passion that He stepped down out of heaven to feel the pains we feel, to feel the same hurts so that we may have a high priest that we can relate to. Jesus tells us that it's okay to feel the pain, that it's okay to feel the hurt, JUST DON'T LET THE HURT AND THE PAIN BE YOUR FOCUS! THAT WILL GET YOU NOWHERE! We have a friend who sticks closer than a brother; Jesus never leaves our side. I pray that in whatever storm that may be flooding your life right now, that you will not look at the storm and see it as all that you know, but rather look to God! He has it all under control. Remember: everything that has come across you in your life has had to bow its knee to the Father. What comes across your life, He knows you can handle, but ONLY in His strength. That's the thing, if we were able to stand the test on our own, then we wouldn't need a Savior. Jesus knew that we needed Him. And nothing happens arbitrarily in our lives, EVERYTHING has a purpose. I pray that you will begin to see that God is in control every single second. And even though your storm may be screaming in your face, look unto the face of Jesus and know that He has everything under control. Hear His voice say to you, "It's all gonna be okay."
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:14-16
"That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, 'Let us go over to the other side.' Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, 'Teacher, don't you care if we drown?' He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, 'Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?' They were terrified and asked each other, Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!'"
When you read these words, I pray that God would penetrate your hearts and that you would grab onto what He is giving you tonight.
And let's face it, life has its rough patches, life isn't all hunky dory. Jesus told us that "in this world, you will have trouble." But then He follows with this amazing statement: "But take heart! I have overcome the world." I acknowledge with you that life is hard sometimes, and I won't say "boo hoo get over it." That's not what these words are for. I want you to see that sometimes there needs to be a perspective shift in our lives; sometimes it's incredibly necessary to shift our gaze. The disciples were freaking out, they were like, "Jesus!! What the heck?! Did you call us only to kill us?" Legitimately, they were terrified, this was no spring rain storm. It was a furious squall. But what Jesus says causes my heart to stir and even to stop and be still. "Peace, be still!... Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt? Do you still have little faith?" Jesus wasn't condemning His disciples but was rather asking them, "Don't you know that I have everything under control?" I wish to convey to you this very message: In the face of all of the chaos and the storms of life, God wants you to know that He is in control; everything comes to your doorstep has had to bow its knee to the Father. He has a purpose in the storms and in the peace of life.
Four years ago, February 24, 2007 I went to this amazing conference called Acquire the Fire. It was in a time of my life that God began to really spark a fire in my heart, to have a passion for Him and His purposes on this earth. But something else was happening to my world while I was there. On the night of the 24th, my grandmother passed away. Talk about something to begin a storm, eh? Not only that, though, my other grandma (my father's mother) passed away five weeks later. It was such a stinkin' rough time in my life. At first, I was like, "God why?! Why do I have to go through all of this? I don't understand!" But God has an amazing way of meeting me in the midst of my storms (and even so, in the storms of your lives as well). The following Wednesday, I was walking home from school and I couldn't even feel the cold air that was blowing that day, I wasn't in a good place. However, I was listening to a song called "The Last Night" by Skillet and immediately as the lyrics "I will wrap you in My arms and never let go" I felt God's arms wrap around me and say "It's all gonna be okay." It was in that moment that His peace and His love had begin to minister to my heart.
You see, from every situation that may be a storm in our lives, God cares so much for us to know that He has everything under control. I'm sure you've heard or seen the nice quote of "Don't tell God how big your storm is, tell the storm how big your God is." As pat answer that might be, it's so freakin essential to our lives! Sometimes we lose focus on which really is in control, the storm or its Maker. "I lift my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth," says Psalm 121. I can't tell you how many times I've lost focus and have focused far too much on the storm of my life, no matter how large or small it might be. And it's in those times that I have the least amount of peace in my life; what's the point in focusing on the thing that is shaking up my peace instead of on the One who gives me peace that surpasses all understanding? Sometimes we have to remember which is in control, the storm or its Maker. I'm here to tell you that God is always, always, always, always, ALWAYS in control! There has never been a moment when His sovereignty has been compromised. Ever. Listen to my heart: I'm not condemning you for losing focus, that happens to all of us. What I want for you, and me, to learn is that when there are storms going on, we need to "lift our eyes to the hills" because we find out where our help comes from: God! Our heavenly Father! The One who loves us with such a deep passion that He stepped down out of heaven to feel the pains we feel, to feel the same hurts so that we may have a high priest that we can relate to. Jesus tells us that it's okay to feel the pain, that it's okay to feel the hurt, JUST DON'T LET THE HURT AND THE PAIN BE YOUR FOCUS! THAT WILL GET YOU NOWHERE! We have a friend who sticks closer than a brother; Jesus never leaves our side. I pray that in whatever storm that may be flooding your life right now, that you will not look at the storm and see it as all that you know, but rather look to God! He has it all under control. Remember: everything that has come across you in your life has had to bow its knee to the Father. What comes across your life, He knows you can handle, but ONLY in His strength. That's the thing, if we were able to stand the test on our own, then we wouldn't need a Savior. Jesus knew that we needed Him. And nothing happens arbitrarily in our lives, EVERYTHING has a purpose. I pray that you will begin to see that God is in control every single second. And even though your storm may be screaming in your face, look unto the face of Jesus and know that He has everything under control. Hear His voice say to you, "It's all gonna be okay."
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:14-16
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