A God Like That

The old song says “People Need The Lord” and, at times like these, that is an understatement.  We need Jesus every day, but I believe the number of people looking up at Him at this time in history is vastly multiplied.  On Sunday I said, “What a week!”  I think every week for a while we may be saying those words.  We are in the midst of a storm.  The storm is medical.  The storm in financial.  The storm is emotional.  The storm is filled with scary things.  And no matter how you try, the storm seems to thunder with a new twist multiple times every day.

I want you to, as we share the stories of Jesus, remember some things Jesus said and did regarding storms.  The first thing is pretty simple.  In Matthew 8:23-27 there is a trip planned.  The disciples get into the boat and Jesus gets into the boat with them.  Lesson 1 is, Jesus is in the boat with us.  His Spirit is living in us.  His presence is with us.  There is nothing about the experience of the storm that Jesus doesn’t see, feel and encounter.  He knows what is going on!

The second thing about the storm is that Jesus is calm.  He tells His disciples, “why are you so afraid?”  I love the way Matthew states this.  He doesn’t say “why are you afraid?”  Storms do scare people.  Storms are loud, unpredictable and dangerous.  There are reasons for at least some level of fear.  But don’t be so afraid that you lose faith in the God that created the heavens and the earth.  We are all concerned … but we don’t have to be irrational.  I am in conversation with several of our church leaders who are helping me plan for the days ahead.  Some have ministry ideas.  Some have creative ideas on how our services will continue.  Some want to make sure people are aware of their responsibility to give.  Some are asking, how can we take a missional view of the storm?  We have many good and faithful people, and I am thankful for them.  I would like to say I could sleep through the storm like Jesus did, but I will be able to sleep tonight because Jesus is right here in the boat with me.

Finally, I take heart in the knowledge of the ending of the story.  Jesus calmed the storm.  He has calmed storms for centuries, including storms far worse than the one we face today.  The disciples said, “What kind of man is this?  Even the wind and the waves obey Him?”  In the song, So Will I the writer says …

if the stars were made to worship so will I
If the mountains bow in reverence so will I
If the oceans roar Your greatness so will I
For if everything exists to lift You high so will I
If the wind goes where You send it so will I
If the rocks cry out in silence so will I

We worship a God who commands the wind and the waves.  We can trust Him.  We will weather the storm and maybe, just maybe, we will be able, as Jesus’ warriors, to stare the evil forces at work in all of this and say … “We are the storm!”  Randy