I Am the God of the Storm

Thunder is one of the most significant and scary things about a storm. It’s an ear-shattering clap that sounds like it’s going straight through the Earth. I was terrified of it as a kid, but after some maturing, I began to respect it.

I realized there was no way a man could recreate a sound so piercing and surreal. I still wouldn’t dare be caught outdoors during a storm, but I liked hearing the thunder and learning of God’s ability to make and control the storm.

The storms in our lives are just as scary. The pain of rejection, heartache, guilt, and regret can hit us like the clap of thunder, surging through our souls like lightning and leaving us drowning in despair.

Bills keep piling up, our loved ones are dying, our children are losing their faith, jobs are scarce, we can’t understand the fights we get into with our friends, and our spouses don’t love us as they once did. Sometimes, we feel like it’s all too much to handle and that, despite our best efforts, we can’t make it through. I know. I’ve been there, too.

Many people blame the storm for their problems, viewing it as a rude interruption to an otherwise peaceful existence. But I don’t think that the storm is the problem so much as how we see it.

Take Simon Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, for example.

After the miracle feast of two fish and five loaves, when Simon Peter (Peter for short) and the rest of the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water that terribly stormy night, he was the first disciple to ask Jesus to prove he was not a ghost but indeed the Christ he chose to follow.

Peter did this by asking Jesus to grant him the ability to walk to him on the water, too. Jesus granted the request, and Peter confidently stepped out of the boat and onto the water, making his way to Jesus’ outstretched arms.

“Oh, ye of little faith, wherefore did you doubt?” Matthew 14:22-33 (Image: Unsplash)

But Peter did something many of us do today: Let the storm distract him. The thunder and lightning, the tossing waves, and fierce winds made Peter take his mind off Jesus and onto the fact that he was several feet away from the boat and standing in the middle of the ocean. Satan took hold of that thought and filled it with fear and, worst of all, doubt.

You might be in a storm. Life may have started great for you initially, but your life hit a snag somewhere, and now you don’t know what to do. You saw the storm coming or got so entangled in your situation that you finally lost control and felt hopeless to stop it.

Either way, you are standing in the middle of your own ocean, too far from the peaceful shore, and without Jesus to save you, you will sink.

Let me break it down: A mustard seed of faith is all it takes for God to save you, but a mustard seed of doubt will give Satan just enough leeway to exaggerate the storms in your life.

Doubt is a reflex of losing faith in God’s ability to save you from your problems. Don’t let Satan have even half of a chance to cause havoc. Do like Peter did when he realized he was in trouble: call on Jesus!

The Bible asks us to cast our cares upon Jesus because he cares deeply for us. It also says nothing happening in your life is a surprise to him. Nothing, absolutely nothing. Nope, not even that.

When the gospel hymn says Jesus knows all about our troubles, it’s the truth. He sees what we go through but can’t move until we take our eyes off our problems and call on him. Our dependence upon Jesus activates his salvation.

Jesus stands there waiting to save us if we can trust and never doubt him. Not only that, but he will calm the sea and remove our problems from us.

It doesn’t sound very easy, but the concept is straightforward. Trust me, you don’t know how to fix your problems because you do not see how they started. If you did, you would not need God.

God is omnipresent - everywhere at once. So he knows more than you could ever, and he knows exactly how to fix the mess you made.

When Jesus pulled Peter out of the water and led him back to the boat with the other disciples, he looked Peter square in the eye and said, “You of little faith. When did you doubt?”

Is doubt causing you to lose sight of the one who can still the water and calm the sea? Remember, Jesus is the God of the storm, and he is the God of Deliverance. Give him your life today.

Scripture Reference:

Matthew 14:22-33