By Mary Carothers

Luke 8 tells us about Jesus and His disciples crossing the lake in their boat. While Jesus slept, a storm swept down on them so violently that the boat was being swamped. Verse 23 tells us…they were in great danger. When they woke Jesus, pleading with Him to save them, they were not overreacting. Their fear was legitimate. They truly were in danger of drowning. Except for the one important fact: Jesus was with them, and He was completely in control of the storm.

What was Jesus’ reaction when He awoke and saw the storm? Did He jump ship, thinking only of the importance of His ministry? Of course not. Nor does He jump ship when we encounter storms in our lives. Just as He was in control of that storm long ago, He is equally in control of the storms that come our way today. He has promised to always be with us, to never forsake us.

One thing we need to remember about storms: they don’t last forever; it just seems that way! Paul tells us in II Corinthians 4:17 that our troubles are light and momentary when we compare them to the eternal glory that far outweighs them all. It will help us to have a truer perspective of our storms if we can view them from that vantage point of eternity.

Another truth about the storms in our lives: Satan uses them to try to wear us down, to wear us out. We need to remember that Jesus, living in us is far greater than Satan, who is in the world (see I John 4:4). Jesus has all power and authority in this world. And He’s on our side!

When the disciples were in the middle of the storm, they couldn’t tell which way to go. They did not know whether they were still on the right course, or if they were turned around, heading back the wrong way. They had lost their sense of direction. Storms in our lives tend to do the same to us. It’s very easy to become confused and overwhelmed by our circumstances, to lose our sense of direction. Like the disciples, we need to cry out to Jesus. We need to fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). He has not only planted the seed of faith in each of us; He will also cause it to take root and grow as we fix our attention on Him. Then the peace of God will rule in our hearts (see Colossians 3:15).

When Jesus was here, He had power to calm the storm. Today, He has ALL power and authority. He can change our circumstances (calm the storm) or He can do the even greater miracle of changing our attitude toward our circumstances. Let’s cooperate with Jesus by trusting Him to take us through the storms in our lives. Let’s keep our attention on Christ, asking Him what He wants us to learn in each particular storm. Like King Jehoshaphat in II Chronicles 20 we need to tell the Lord “We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” When the Israelites began to praise the Lord, He confounded the enemy and destroyed them. When we praise the Lord, He will surely confound the enemy of our souls, and carry us through the storms of our lives. (Reprint from March 1992)