Any experienced dog trainer will tell you the key to a calm and obedient puppy comes from a strong bond between the master and the canine. When moments of chaos arise—other dogs around, loud knocks at the door, a squirrel in the road—the best-trained dogs look to their owner and take their cues from them. If the master of the dog looks calm and offers, “It’s okay, good boy,” a faithful dog will likely rest its head and ignore the external distractions. If the master looks peaceful, the puppy will follow. Believers would do well to take a page from Fido’s book in this way.
Look At Your Master
And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
look at your master
only god calms the storms
Due to the topography of the Sea of Galilee—seven hundred feet below sea level and sloping hills all around it—storms often swelled on the lake. Yet, for a storm to cause such great distress for a group of well-trained fishermen, it must have been a doozy. In the midst of panic and utter chaos, Jesus’s calm mood struck a strong contrast. While the disciples panicked and cried out, Jesus napped. The psalmists have already taught us that only God can master the weather (Psalm 104:3; 135:7; 107:23–30), so when Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves, the gospel writers intended to showcase Jesus’s deity and authority. At the mere mention of the command, the storm ceased immediately, and the disciples went from knocking knees to dropping jaws. After all, only Yahweh holds the power to calm the storms and control the seas. If only God can quell storms, who did that make Jesus?
applied faith
While the disciples might have wanted to throw a party to celebrate surviving the incredible storm, Jesus used the opportunity to teach his disciples a valuable lesson. At this point in the life of Christ, the disciples had seen him do plenty of miraculous things. Their failure in grasping this miracle came not from a lack of initial faith. Instead, they failed because they refused to apply their faith. Like a well-trained pup, disciples of Jesus should have looked to Christ in the midst of chaos and storms. We take our cues from him. He is our peace and provides us with peace through his presence in our storms. When storms in life arise, Jesus promises to stand by our side through them all. One theologian puts it, “It might be deliverance through trial rather than from it,” but either way God expects us to look to him in the storm and trust him.
facing your storms
Scripture reminds us that we will face trials of many kinds (John 16:33). We can relate strongly to the disciples as the winds swirl and the waves topple over the sides of the boat. We know the gut punch of a bad diagnosis, the nausea of betrayal, the ground shaking below us in failure. We should learn from the disciples’ mistakes and keep our eyes on our savior, not our storm.
Watch Session Two
Jesus Calms Our Storms
Daily Question
What trials do you face right now? How can Christ’s presence through these trials bring you peace in your chaos?
Comments (10)
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I’m learning how to let go, and think about new steps. I haven’t had to be brave in a long time, and I’m hoping when I have the opportunity soon, I will take advantage, and have the faith to step out no matter the result. I’m also really evaluating my friendships, and what a good friend for me looks like, and what being a good friend looks like for me.
The chaos that comes with small kiddos, limited self care, lack of time with my husband. Hard to remind myself to prioritize those things over a clean house, work, etc. Christ’s presence can help me stay present and dedicate time to my relationships.
I’m currently not speaking to my dad and it’s hurting my heart so much. We’ve gone through this same thing once before and it’s because he can’t learn to accept things that weren’t "normal" when he was growing up. I pray just about every night about this asking for God’s strength and for help with this whole situation. I keep telling myself that God plans everything in our life for us to learn from, so that’s what I’m holding on to right now, knowing that I will grow from this in many different ways.
I face a lot of trails everyday it seems lately. From kids, life, broken relationships, work stress, overthinking my choices.
His peace and presents keeps me grounded. He reminds me I’m not alone and no matter what I’m going through as long as my faith is in him he will bring me through it.
I think for me right now work has been a huge trial. But if I look at the whole situation from the outside looking in I can see where God has moved and brought peace to me through all of the struggles.
My marriage has also walked through a lot of good times and a lot of hard times and I’ve really had to trust that God has a plan and a future for our family and this study is reminding me that being in his presence is where I am going to find the peace. The peace does not come from anywhere else but him and that’s why it is so important for me to be in his presence daily, so that I can be the vessel that he wants me to be around everyone he brings into my life.
I keep going back to the video from yesterday and repeating in my mind Jesus is the calm in the storm and Jesus can calm the storm and all the different trials that I’m faced with regarding work or my individual relationships with my kids or my individual relationship with my husband or the family dynamics of a blended family all are these storms but Jesus can keep me at peace and when the time is right I have faith every day I have to claim the faith that I have faith that Jesus will calm the storm
Right now god is bringing me through some trials to build strength and perseverance and promise. I made a lot of commitments and now I’m struggling because sometimes feels like it’s hard to have a relax day. And makes me wanna just say never mind I’m done but each time I get to that point and push through it God always gives me motivation and makes me feel refreshed. Which in turn gives me that peace
None if I really look at how blessed I am.
But if f I look at being alone, fear of my financial stability when I retire or am too old to work, I start getting stressed.
I don’t want to admit that I still have. Some symptoms of CPTSD and learning challenges.
I don’t want to admit that I’m not normal.
I believe Jesus is in control of the situations
Too many to list. God’s presence assures me that these trials are temporary, only for a season. Just as quickly as the storm started, God will bring peace in my chaos and all will be good once again