Note: Some of this content was derived from by book, “What if… How to Kill Worry and Anxiety Before They Kill You”
Today we are facing a storm of worldwide proportions. The world is afraid of getting sick, losing their jobs, not having enough money, they are afraid of tomorrow, next week and next month!
- 3 months ago we didn’t know about the Coronavirus,
- 2 months ago we learned that it was a deadly virus in Wuahan, China
- 1 month ago we worried that they might quarantine us
- Today we are under the tightest control since WWII
- 3 months ago there were no known deaths from COVID-19
- 2 months ago there were 565 deaths
- 1 month ago there were 3,387 deaths
- Today there are >60,000 deaths
We don’t know when or if it will stop. Some are saying that Coronavirus could become seasonal.
These statistics are meant to scare you but to help you realize the changing situation we are in. We can not assume that all that has gone on will continue to go on just as it was. This is a storm of worldwide proportions.
What are some common features of every storm?
- You can’t control them
- You can’t accurately predict them
- They cause destruction
- They don’t leave things the same
- They eventually subside
- They eventually return
- They cause fear
Despite the negative aspects of storms we also know that God has a way of using them for His good and for our good.
- He uses them to judge people for their sins (The flood, the plagues)
- The flood (Gen 6)
- The plagues in Egypt (Exo 7-11)
- He uses them to correct and direct individuals
- Jonah
- He uses them to humble people so that they will turn to God
- Psalm 107 tells of how God both makes the storm and calms the storm (Psa 107:23-30)
- He uses them to spread the gospel
- Paul was shipwrecked and as a result preached the gospel in Malta. (Acts 27-28)
- He uses them to show his power (Exo 19)
- God’s power is often compared to a storm
- He uses them to test and strengthen faith (Mat 8, Mark 4, Luke 8)
In our text here Christ uses the storm to teach the disciples several lessons but there is no lesson greater than the simple lesson of faith! As we look at this passage I want each one to ask himself,
“Do I have faith that will bring me through the storm?”
You see Jesus didn’t want a mere intellectual faith in his disciples. He didn’t want them to just nod their heads every time he said something and say, “Yes, Rabbi, yes Rabbi.” Too many people today have a faith that nods their head but not their heart. Too many have a faith that says, “yes pastor” or “yes, brother,” or “amen, sister” but their words are hollow, they contain no action, no commitment, no weight, and no value.
Imagine balloons that have been inflated. They all looks the same but what you don’t know is that some have been inflated with air and some were stretched around large iron balls. Yet, they’re all the same size and shape and all the same color. From the outside there’s no noticeable difference. In fact you will not notice a difference unless the wind begins to blow. Just as soon as the slightest breeze starts those balloons filled with air begin to float away. But the balloons stretched around large iron balls will never float away, they are solid, heavy, and immovable by any wind. And so it is with faith. A Christian with real faith in Christ is a solid and unmovable man. He isn’t easily taken away by the winds of sickness, or the clouds of trouble in his life. No, he stays solidly put, anchored in Jesus Christ.
Let’s look at this important lesson on faith that Jesus taught his disciples and see if it doesn’t say something to us today, if it doesn’t say something about how we should stand in the midst of the fears and panic over the Coronavirus.
