Have you ever been where you knew God wanted you to be, but still experienced great storms of life? That is what happened to the disciples in Matthew 14:22-33. Immediately after Jesus fed the 5,000, he MADE his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake while he sent the people home. He knew a storm was coming, and yet he sent them onto the lake.
As I’ve been talking about over the last several weeks, there are many storms in life, some are a result of sin and warfare, some are a result of our actions, and still, others just happen. Its almost as if they were created to see if we are willing to trust God to get us through the storm. Sickness, death, broken relationships, financial ruin are just a few of the storms we go through. Although the intensity will vary, we all have storms that cause us anxiety.
Our job is to remember the Christ is beside us as we walk through our storms. In fact, like the night Jesus sent the disciples out on that boat, a strong wind came up and the disciples were fighting heavy waves. At about 3 a.m. Jesus came to them walking on the water. He didn’t calm the water before he walked out to them. No, he went to them in the midst of the worst of the storm.
In yet another storm discussed in Mark 4 starting at verse 35, Jesus was in the boat with the disciples and they were crossing to get to the other side of the lake. Soon after leaving the shore, a fierce storm arose. High waves began to break into the boat until it was nearly full of water. Even though the disciples were seasoned fishermen who had spent their lives fishing on this huge lake where violent and unexpected storms where common, they panicked during this storm. I love that Jesus stayed sleeping in the back of the boat. The disciples frantically woke him saying, “‘Teacher, don’t you even care that we are going to drown?’ When Jesus woke up he rebuked the wind and said to the water, ‘Quiet down!’ Suddenly the wind stopped and there was a great calm. And he asked them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you not have faith in me?’”
We are a lot like the disciples, aren’t we? When the big storms hit, we can either assume Jesus doesn’t care and try to handle it on our own or we can confess our need to God and trust him to take care of it. Which camp are you in? Do you underestimate Jesus’ power to handle crises in your life or do you turn to Him in faith?
If we don’t learn to trust Jesus to handle our problems, we can turn to despair. It seems there are a lot of people in the world today who have done just that. They simply have given up. They give up on their goals in life, they give up on their relationship that has become challenging, they may even give up on life itself. They’ve decided that things are so bad that life will never be better and there is no reason to even try. I believe this is why we have so much anxiety, depression, and apathy in the world. Taken to the extreme, we get suicide, random killings, and even mass murders. Because people have given in to despair and have no hope.
We hear it all the time. This has to stop. There has to be something that can give people given to despair something better. And there is something that can replace despair. It is called hope. Truly, although it seems that the majority of the world has forgotten, the true reason we celebrate Christmas is to celebrate the birth of God’s son who came to give us hope in a world that is full of sin and despair. Through his mercy, we have faith, hope, and love. Three things that can cover a lot of grief and despair.
Sadly though, it takes more than just believing in God or knowing that Jesus came and died for our sins. We need to have a relationship with him and we need to fully trust him to guide us throughout our lives. As I’ve talked about in the past, when we do this, we don’t always get to see the big picture. Sometimes we don’t even get to see what is three steps ahead of us.
We are asked to courageously step out in faith and take the next step. And then when we’ve completed that, we take the next step. Sometimes, it takes a lot longer than we think it should to get the results we want, in fact, there are times we don’t get the results we want at all. But we do get to live in peace in knowing that we have a savior who is on our side and promises us eternal life with him. In a place that knows no sadness, grief, pain, suffering, or despair.
You see, despite our inclination in times of trouble, life cannot grind to a halt. Whenever things get unpleasant or distressing, we must evaluate the situation, pray diligently, make some adjustments, and keep moving. We simply cannot give up because of fear or uncertainty.
In Jeremiah 29:11, God says, “For I know the plans I have for you. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” God will be with us the whole way. He believes in us and knows that we can do any task he sets before us because he not only lays the desire in our heart, he equips us with the ability to make it happen. As long as God, who knows the future, provides our agenda and goes with us as we fulfill his mission, we can have boundless hope. It doesn’t mean we will not experience pain, suffering, or hardship, but God will see us through to a glorious conclusion.
But it does mean that God has a plan for our lives. The hard work for us is to let go of trying to figure everything out ourselves. When we step out of our own way and seek God first in everything we do, things start to fall into place. Suddenly we start to feel in alignment with his purpose for our lives; in all aspects of our lives.
If you’ve listened to past episodes, you know I’ve struggled with this process over the last year. Honestly, there was no suddenly in the process for me. But it’s been a slow peeling back of layers of letting go. Only through coaching through the believes I made of events in my life have I truly been able to get to the core of some of the things that had been holding me back. The calm that comes with that knowing and the subsequent surrender is such a peaceful feeling, that I simply want to share it with everyone.
Looking back I realize that in the worst times for me, it seemed as though God had forgotten me, but in fact, I now realize that he has been preparing me for a new life with him at the center. Although I’ve been resisting letting go of control, I have realized that nothing can come between my relationship with Jesus if I seek him continually and trust the work he is doing through my struggles.
I, like so many, have been so anxious to ask Christ to hurry up and stop my storms so I can be comfortable with where I am at. But, truth be told, that would defeat the purpose. Because what he really wants is for me, truly for all of us, is to find him in the midst of our storms.
I really love how Shawna Niequist ties all of this in with the season of Advent in her devotional, Savor. She says, “Advent is about waiting, anticipating, yearning. Advent is the question, the pleading, and Christmas is the answer to that question, the response to the how.” She goes on to say, “Advent says the baby is coming, but he isn’t here yet, the hope is on its way, but the yearning is still very real. Advent allows us to tell the truth about what we’re grieving, without giving up on the gorgeous and extravagant promise of Christmas, the baby on his way.
Consider Advent a less flashy, but still very beautiful way of being present in this season. Give up your false failing attempts at merriment, and thank God for a season that understands longing and loneliness and long nights. Let yourself fall open to Advent, to anticipation, to the belief that what is empty will be filled, and what is broken will be repaired, and what is lost can always be found, no matter how many times it’s been lost.
God fulfilled so many promises when Jesus came as a baby in Bethlehem. Dare to hope and trust that he will fulfill his promises to you as well.”
The last line says it all. Dare to hope. Dare to trust God to fulfill his promise to you. Whatever you struggle with today, God’s got your back. It seems unfathomable that he loved us all so much that he was willing to send his son to die for our sins. But before Christ could do that, he came as an innocent baby so he could show us the way. Accepting that truth has changed everything for me. It brought me from being a girl who believed in God and knew about Jesus to being a girl who longs to be in relationship with him always. From a girl who didn’t know who she was or what her purpose in life was to a girl who knows exactly whose she is and what she is called to do.
How about you? Are you ready to step into the version of you who is fulfilling their purpose and saying yes to God every day? I’d love to have a conversation about what that looks like. Honestly, the answers are all provided in scripture. But if you’re like I was most of my life, you don’t feel you have the time or even know where to start. I’d love to help you with that. Learn more at my website at vonajohnson.com.
Our days are numbered, so don’t waste another day living an uncertain life. Let’s talk soon.
If you know someone who needs to hear this message today, please send it to them. Let them know you care and you want them to dare to hope.
Have an amazing week and a blessed Advent.
