Every season, because you carry God’s calling and purpose, you will face a life storm. Jesus approached two ways to face a literal storm while in the boat with His disciples. During the storm, the first thing He did was rest His physical body by sleeping. So either the waves were hitting him in the face and he still didn’t wake, or the disciples over-exaggerated the drowning part of the storm. Physical rest was important to Jesus when no one else was prioritizing it. The calling and purpose of God on your life will often take you to a place where you are doing exactly opposite of everyone else in a storm. Of course spiritual rest in Jesus is the highest priority of a believer during a storm. To surrender your beliefs and worries and exchange them for God’s thoughts and plans during the storm can be true rest in Christ Jesus.
The second thing Jesus did was rebuke the storm after the disciples pleaded with Him. This is every young disciples dream… “Let’s simply get rid of the storm!” We see it often in young believers poorly advising, “Just rid yourself of the marriage, just rid yourself of the job, just rid yourself of the relationship, just rid yourself of the church…. things will get better because…..you deserve to be happy.” Sometimes ridding ourselves of the storm robs us from perseverance and an opportunity to grow in our faith and learning to rest. “Well Jesus finally rebuked the storm so He must have wanted to do that!” What if Jesus wanted His disciples to rest with Him and trust that what He said about going to the other side would actually happen, regardless of the storm?
Today we have 2 options in our life storm. Rebuke or Rest. I am all for rebuking life storms if you know that God has asked you to rebuke but what if in this season of the storm, you can go to another level of trust with Jesus by resting? Even if your life boat sinks, you can lean on the thoughts/ chest of Jesus who can’t sink or drown but supernaturally rises above the stormy water.
Mark 4:35-41 ESV 35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 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?”
brandonpollard 