Everyone is likely in one of three places: You’ve recently come through a storm, you’re right now in the middle of a storm, or you will be facing a storm in the future.

The question is never whether storms will come… but whether we believe God is in them with us.

We know God is faithful but, in the storm, it doesn’t always feel that way.

Story: In 1952, Florence Chadwick attempted to swim 26 miles from Catalina Island to the California coast. Fog rolled. She couldn’t see the shore. Exhausted and cold, she asked to be pulled from the water—only to learn she had stopped just one mile from shore. She later said, “I think if I could have seen the land, I could have made it.”
The storm wasn’t the problem… losing sight of the destination was. HOW MANY TIMES DO WE LOSE SIGHT OF OUR DESTINATION IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STORM?

Mark 4:35-39 NIV – “That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

NOTE: Jesus had been teaching all day. The disciples were exactly where Jesus told them to be. The storm arrived while they were obeying God (just like Elijah’s brook dried up while he was at the place God told him to be.)

NOTE: The presence of a storm does not mean you’re outside the will of God. (If so, Paul was always outside God’s will)

Since we know storms will come whether we’re in God’s will or not, we must learn how to ride through the storm

God’s Promise is Greater than Your Problem

Mark 4:35 NIV – “That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us GO OVER TO THE OTHER SIDE.”

He didn’t say, “Let’s go halfway” or “Let’s drown in the middle” or “Let’s see if we survive”

He said, “Let’s go to the other side.”

The promise was spoken before the storm appeared and God’s word has the power to fulfill itself.

The disciples should have interpreted the storm through the promise (Jesus said we were going to the other side… this can’t possibly be the end for us)

NOTE: Abraham finally grew to trust God’s promise more than his predicament

Hebrews 11:19 NLT – “Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died (if God had him go through with sacrificing him) God was able to bring him back to life again.”

Instead, the disciples did what we often do: They interpreted the promise through the storm

“QUOTE” – If God gave you a promise, the storm cannot cancel what God has already declared.

ILLUSTRATION: GPS systems don’t change your destination because of a traffic jam. The route may change. The timing may change. But the destination remains the same.

God doesn’t abandon the ultimate destination due to some temporary turbulence.

God’s Silence is Not God’s Absence

Mark 4:38 NIV – “Jesus was in the storm, sleeping on a cushion.”

The disciples were panicking, Jesus was sleeping.

HONESTY: Every felt like God was sleeping right in the middle of your biggest storm? A bad doctor report? A marriage that’s in free fall? A job that is on the verge of elimination? A child who was raised to love Jesus but has somehow walked away? AND HEAVEN SEEMS QUIET?
WHY: I HAVE NO IDEA…

Remember after Jesus calmed the storm he said, “Oh you of little faith… why did you doubt?”

I believe Jesus was literally expecting one of them to stand on the front of the boat and command the storm to cease based on the word they have been given.

I also believe sometimes heaven seems quiet because God is trying to show us our trust meter.

Isaiah 43:2 NIV – “WHEN (not if) you pass through the waters, I WILL BE WITH YOU. and WHEN (not if) you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.”

“QUOTE” – (V. Raymond Edman) Never doubt in the darkness what God has spoken in the light

Fear Makes You Forget What Faith Should Remember

Mark 4:38 NIV – “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

The storm created spiritual amnesia. These men KNEW Jesus cared about them.

Yet one storm caused them to temporarily forget all that He had already done for them.

“QUOTE” – Fear doesn’t just exaggerate our problems. It causes us to forget God’s track record.

ASK YOURSELF: How many times has God: Provided before? Protected before? Opened doors before? Healed before? Made a way before?

Psalm 77:11 NIV – “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles ago.”

“QUOTE” – The greatest antidote to fear in the storm is reminding yourself what God has already done.

Jesus Has Authority Over Whatever Threatens You

Mark 4:39 NIV – “He (Jesus) got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” And the wind died down and it was completely calm.”

Notice that Jesus didn’t negotiate with the storm. He commanded it.

NOTE: The disciples discovered that the storm they feared was subject to the Savior they followed.

Your storm may be: Financial, Physical, Relational, Emotional, Spiritual

“QUOTE” – Always remember, whatever has a name, stands beneath the authority of the Name  of Jesus.

Philippians 2:9-11 NIV – “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him THE NAME that is above EVERY NAME…”