Sometimes life can be like a storm. Describing the pain and hardships as a “storm” feels appropriate. Storms can be chaotic, sometimes violent, and can disrupt your peace. If you’re caught in a storm your natural instinct is to run and find shelter.  This same instinct is triggered when emotional or personal storms rage. Our minds panic and look for the safest reprieve, healthy or unhealthy, we want OUT.

Our response to storms can be a fight-or-flight response. Flying away from the storms or coping with life’s struggles often looks like soothing ourselves in unhealthy behavior: food, drugs, entertainment, sex, or social media are places many hurting people go. It feels like a quick fix when dopamine releases, but these outlets don’t really help.

It’s interesting to look at what God says helps us get through the storms of life.

Obedience

Matthew 7:24
²⁴ “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.²⁵ And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.²⁷ And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and its collapse was great.”

There is a foundation we can obtain that makes us unshakeable: hearing the words of Jesus and acting on them. Obedience is mentioned throughout the new testament. It’s birthed out of our love-relationship with God. We don’t obey out of duty, but out of love.

John 14: 23
“If anyone loves Me, he will follow My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him.

 

Testimony

I remember being in the throes of Multiple Sclerosis. The disease would surprise attack and it left me panicked in my twenties and early thirties. It felt like I had an imposter in my body, and I didn’t know when they were going to start shooting at me. Many episodes resulted in my complete loss of sleep. I couldn’t relax because I didn’t know what the disease would do. I felt so insecure. My mind was tormented by my physical illness, MS.

I remember thinking “If I had peace, I might not care that MS is attacking my body.” Abiding in Jesus means to have peace in the face of a Storm. To know that His words are true when he rebukes the storm, and stills the sea:

Mark 4:35-41
³⁵ On that day, when evening came, He said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side.” ³⁶ After dismissing the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. ³⁷ And a fierce gale of wind developed, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling with water. ³⁸ And yet Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹ And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and ^[a]it became perfectly calm. ⁴⁰ And He said to them, “Why are you ^[b]afraid? Do you still have no faith?” ⁴¹ They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who, then, is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

Jesus has authority to rebuke the winds. He gives His children authority and teaches us how to navigate in trials and hardship. The Word also says that He comforts those in pain and He walks with us through our trials.

Psalm 23:4
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

Psalm 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

I love the character of God. I love His names in the bible and the way He responds to our behavior. He disciplines those he loves, and he comforts those who mourn. He is truly the perfect Father.

Our Heart Posture
It is important to remain humble and child-like as we grow and walk with Jesus through trials. Western culture is increasingly self-centered, entitled, prideful and arrogant. This attitude repels the heart of God, who so cherishes blessing His children. When we look at the response from Mary and Martha at the death of Lazarus we see two different approaches:

John 11:20
Martha
²⁰ So then Martha, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed in the house. ²¹ Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise from the dead.” ²⁴ Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have come to believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, and ^[j]He who comes into the world.”

John 11:32
Mary
³² So when Mary came to the place where Jesus was, she saw Him and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³ Therefore when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and ^[k]was troubled, ³⁴ and He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Jesus wept.
…
³⁸ Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb; it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. ⁴² I knew that thou hearest me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that thou didst send me.” ⁴³ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Laz′arus, come out.” ⁴⁴ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Its an amazing story and one that utterly disrupted the world, causing the Pharisees to seek to kill Jesus. But what’s so significant about the two sisters is how they approached Jesus. Mary fell at His feet in her distress of losing her brother. She worshipped him instead of questioning Him of not showing up. Then after being moved by Mary, Jesus approached the tomb to resurrect Lazarus. And as we worship Jesus in the face of our storms, he too will cause Life to flow into our situations.

Synopsis

Storms can be expected. James 1:2 states that trials are opportunities to find joy. When we stare at the face of our struggle and we worship God, we move His heart. When we say Jesus you are Lord and you have me for the rest of my life, no matter what happens to me, that moves His heart. That is the faith that moves mountains. Obedience in our worship no matter the circumstance.