Jesus has the power to be in control over storms

Luke 8:22-25

²² One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. ²³ As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.

²⁴ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”

He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. ²⁵ “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.

In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

I am grateful never to have been on a boat during a storm, but I have had scary experiences of storms, especially while driving my car. The violent howling winds, reverberating thunder, pelting hail and relentless rain frightened me during these times, and my experiences certainly make me feel sympathy for the disciples who feared for their lives.

It’s hard, then, to imagine a man just standing up, looking round and saying, “Oh be quiet” (or something similar) and the weather just returning to an ordinary day. It feels like a story that should be slotted in with the other fairy tales in our brain’s library, but we need to move this story to the non-fiction section. Jesus did live on this earth and he did have power over everything, proving it here by controlling the weather.

Apart from wild weather in our atmosphere, there are also ‘non-weather’ storms that affect us. Looking up some of the ‘non-weather’ definitions of words in the passage; ‘raging’ means angry fury, or violent anger. ‘Wind’ can also be used for empty, pompous, or boastful talk and ‘storm’ can mean a tumultuous reaction; an uproar or controversy.

I find myself in the centre of these type of ‘non-weather’ storms almost daily. Someday the angry words, uproar or boastful talk surround me, sometimes the fury or emptiness builds up inside me, and, sometimes, I’m the one creating the storm.

Just as the disciples called out to Jesus in the middle of the storm on the lake, acknowledging him as their Master, so too can we call out to Him to be our Master during the storms we face. We can trust in Him for the calmness, peace and control He is powerful enough to envelop us with.

Head: After witnessing Jesus’s amazing power over the weather, the disciples ask, “Who is this?” This is a question we each must ask ourselves too, because our answer steers the course of our lives.

Heart: The disciples had to think bigger about Jesus. They had to think of him as a Master, someone to trust, someone with incredible power. How does this make you feel when facing the storms of your own life?

Hands: If something feels overwhelming to you, try follow the example of the disciples, turn to Jesus and say Master, Master, I’m going to drown! Then trust him to take care of the rest.

Prayer:

Dear Lord

There are storms around me and I often feel helpless, worried and afraid like your disciples did in that boat on that stormy night. Help me to grasp the reality of passage and to trust in the power that you have. I ask you to be my Master and take control of the storms in my life.

In Jesus’s name

Amen

A song to listen to: Through the Storm

Hayley Alexander- Creek Road Presbyterian Church- Carina