Facing the Storms of Life

“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.  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.  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.  ‘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.’ (Luke 8:22-25 NIV)

Much of the country is fixated on Hurricane Matthew, which is currently making its way up the east coast of Florida.  Headlines during the past week have focused on the extreme intensity of this storm and the need for those in its path to make preparations.

I was talking yesterday with one of our staff about someone who used to be involved with our campus ministry.  This person has had a more difficult road in life than they would have anticipated just a few short years ago.  I shared that I believe this is one of the purposes of our ministry—to prepare students to face the storms of life that they will eventually experience.  

College life is indeed filled with many pressures, whether they involve school, relationships, or the future, but what every college graduate knows is these pressures are just the “outer bands” in the storm that is life in a fallen world.  Whether they realize it or not, today’s students will face much greater troubles and stress in the years to come.  They will, with few exceptions, look back on their college lives with a longing for the “good ol’ days.”

The reality for us all is that over the span of our lives there will be many storms.  Divorce, chronic illness, a miscarriage, caring for aging parents, the loss of a job, are just a few of the many potential “troubles” Jesus predicted we would experience in life.  The question we must all ask is: are we prepared for them?

The disciples, while on the lake, were not when the storm unleashed its fury.  They panicked and failed to see the Source of their safety.  They were tested and failed.  I see similar things on campus.  Followers of Jesus find themselves in the midst of a storm and panic.  Instead of being focused on Jesus, their eyes are fixed on the waves and the wind.  As with the disciples, it is a small test.  Bigger ones are coming.  

The hope we can find in the story of the disciples is when the biggest storms appeared later in their lives, they held fast to the Lord.  They were prepared because the focus of their lives turned from themselves to Jesus.  No longer did everything revolve around them but around the Lord and serving Him.

Today, recognize the preparation needed to face the inevitable storms of your life is to focus more and more on Jesus.  He is the one who has overcome the world, and He is the one who can calm any storm in which you find yourself.

© Jim Musser 2016