Through the Storms of Life

Last Sunday we looked here at E-Free at the story of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee. From this story in Scripture we saw that Jesus was the one who initiated He and the disciples taking a boat across the lake at that particular time. He, being God, obviously knew that the storm was coming. So then, why would He take the disciples into a storm? The answer is that He wanted to test their faith. They had been listening to Him teach and they had watched Him do many miracles. But would they trust Him in their storm? They didn't. During the storm Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat. The disciples awaken Him with the question, "Don't you care?"

Today there are many that teach that God wants no storms to come into your life. You should be completely healthy physically and financially. That just doesn't measure up to this story. Jesus knew that the storm was on the horizon and He was the one who led the disciples into the storm. Why? Because God knows that sometimes storms are good for us because they test and solidify our faith and cause growth in our life.

When one of my kids was very little, they needed to have a medical procedure done. It was a horrific and painful procedure and there was no way to prepare our child for it or to explain to them why it was needed. But without it, there could have been very serious consequences. I had to literally hold my child down and look into their face during this horrible procedure. The whole time my child was yelling, "Daddy, make them stop! Daddy, make them stop!" They couldn't understand why I would hold them down and allow this pain to take place. But as their daddy, as much as it tore me to pieces, I had to hold my child down through that storm. I knew that this storm was the best thing for my child even though they couldn't understand.

I think that is how it is with God. He knows the big picture and realizes that some storms are needed in our lives. We don't always understand and often we cry out, "God, make it stop! Don't you care?" But the truth is that He loves us enough to take us through the storm!