Storms Of Life

Storms come and go. Some pass through with little impact, while others cause catastrophic damage. However, they will eventually pass, even when it seems they last forever. Life is like this. Life produces storms that cause us distress. Some pass with little effect, while others have a major impact that we carry for a lifetime. The storms in our lives don’t have to be negative. Uncomfortable, but useful. Storms of life can be opportunities for growth. When we are sailing through life and a storm blows in, we have a choice to make. We can allow fear to grab hold of us, or we can turn to the one person who can calm the storms.

In Matthew chapter 8 there is a sorry about a storm that we can find hope, courage, and calm. At the end of the chapter we read about the disciples getting into a boat with Jesus and heading out on the water. Soon a furious storm came and waves were coming into the boat and the disciples were fearful of dying. Jesus was sleeping and the fear filled disciples woke Him saying they were going to drown. Jesus asks the disciples, “You of little, why are you so afraid?” (Matthew 8:26). Jesus then gets up and rebukes the winds and waves, and it becomes completely calm. During the storms of life, it matters who we have in our boat. Who are we trusting to protect us and bring us through the storm? Are we trusting ourselves, another person, or Jesus?

I said earlier that storms produce opportunities. If we have Jesus in our boat, storms become opportunities to strengthen our faith. The more storms that Jesus brings us through, the greater our faith in Him will be. However, there may be some clean up to do after the storm. The clean up may be quick, or it may be long. Many of our storms will require some type of cleaning up once it passes. The thing to remember is that the storm will pass. The big question is, who do we have in our boat? Support from family and friends are important, and they can help us during our storms. However, having Jesus in our boat will make a huge difference. We don’t have to fear the storms of life. Instead, we can choose to have Jesus in the midst of our storms. Even in the middle of the storm we can be fearless and feel calmness when we have Jesus going through the storm with us. So, who do we have in our boat? If you are in the middle of a storm, invite Jesus into your boat. If you are not experiencing a present storm, invite Jesus into your boat so that when the storm comes who’ll already have Jesus with you. The key to calmness during the storms of life is having Jesus in your boat.