He Calms The Storm

At my home church on Sunday morning, we have been going verse by verse through The Gospel Book of Matthew. The apostle and author, Matthew, is teaching us that Jesus is God in Chapter 1 - 9. Jesus begins ministering by healing the sick. And just after he teaches on the cost of discipleship, he gets into a boat and his disciples follow him.

He Calms The Storm
(Storm by NicolasEariste on Deviantart)

Let's take this up in Matthew 8:24:
And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with waves. But He [Jesus] was asleep. Then His dispels cam to Him and awoke Him saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" 
 But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

Old Testament Teaching

This morning as I was cleaning the kitchen, emptying the dishwasher, and fixing my morning coffee, I put on a CD of Psalms which is read with the background of orchestral music. When the reader got to Psalm 107, I heard something familiar to the teaching in Matthew but did not realize it was also in the Old Testament Psalms. Look at Psalm 107 beginning in verse 21:
Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing.
Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, they see the works of the LORD, and His wonders in the deep. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens; They go down again to the depths: Their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and they are at their wits' end.
Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses.
He calms the storm, so that its waves are still.

A Lesson and Solution

The disciples marveled that Jesus calmed the seas because they knew that God was the One who had the ability to calm the storm and command the waters. No wonder Jesus questioned the size of his disciples faith. Didn't they understand yet that HE was God? Matthew records this occurrence because it is a time in Jesus' ministry that He demonstrates that He is God! Only God can calm the storm of the sea and, likewise as the psalmist writes, only God can calm the distressful storms of our soul.

How many of us live a life of being tossed, reeled to and fro, staggering from one situation to the next like a drunken man and finally coming to our wits' end?

But a great lesson and solution is told within the Old Testament Psalm! Re-read Ps 107: 28-29:
Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses. 
He calms the storm, so that its waves are still.

What are you waiting for? 

Are you not yet at your wits' end? Are you waiting for your life (your work, your relationships, your health, your finances, and your soul) to be tattered even more in the storms?

Jesus is waiting for you to cry out to Him. Jesus is wanting to act on your behalf. He is ready, but the question is "are you"? Are you willing to humble yourself and cry out in your distress, so that he can calm the sea of your melting soul?

If you do, He will calm the storm that is raging, and as you allow and listen, He will guide you step by step.  Crying out to Jesus is not a quick fix. It is a genuine desire for God to take control of your life. It is yielding to God's way. You must be ready to no longer live in sin. You must be willing to obey. Life in Christ is not easy, but it is better, because you will be in God's protection and blessing.

My heart prayer is that for as many that are willing to open their heart to hear God, that they will bow down to Him and receive abundant life, a life in Him that can sustain you through the storms. When He calms the storm in your soul, the outer storms of life do not so easily affect you. In Him, you are shielded and able to rejoice in Him regardless of your circumstances.

He Calms you! (By NicolasEvariste on Deviantart)


Remember: If you cry out to Him, He calms the storm.



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