By Pastor Shane Comiskey
…that in Me you may
have peace. In the world you will have tribulation…I have overcome the world. _John 16:33
…He said to them, ¨Let
us cross over to the other side. ¨…And a great windstorm arose, and the waves
beat into the beat…The He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea,
¨Peace, be still!¨ _Mark 4:35-39
Life
in general is a mixture of highs and lows, of hard times and good times. I can
have quite a lot to say about this fact in my own life, and so can everyone
that has walked the earth. Jesus Christ while walking on earth said that these
tribulations and persecutions will come to men and so to us, but He has
overcome the world and I am victorious even when I seem to suffer loss.
This
storm that the disciples faced while Jesus our Lord slept was a real one and it
caused their hearts much fear. This storm can be related to the hard times that
I encounter in my life, and it is true, many a storm in my life too have
brought with them a feeling of hopelessness and fear. The disciples recognized
what the storm was and that they would perish by it, so they called on Jesus.
So
for me to make sense of storms, or any one storm, I have to know what it is;
1. Life Decision
storms. These are ones of our own making!
…whatever a man sows, that
he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap
corruption…_Galatians 6:7-9
This
storm comes by the bad decisions we make and by sowing to the flesh in this
way, we reap corruption, we reap storms that come as a result or consequence.
Yet we can avoid these storms by not blaming God when the storms of this kind
do come, listening to the people who love us and are for us, and listening to
God´s Spirit. Matthew 16:24
…Then you will call
upon Me…and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. _Jeremiah 29:11-14
2. Life Experience
storms. These are due to the fact that we live in an evil world and these
storms come to everyone whether they make right decisions or not. Nobody, I
have learnt, gets away with a problem-free life. Matthew 5:45, 1 Peter 1:5-7. These are for our faith, to test the genuineness thereof.
I can only get out of this kind of storm by praying to God for deliverance, He
is my deliverer. 2nd Corinthians 1:9-12, Psalm 34:19.
3. Demonic storms.
This kind of storm can be exemplified in Mark 4:39-41. At this point when
Jesus shows His magnificent authority over the storm, the disciples start to
see Him as really great. And so I see myself in them, God delivering me from
storm after storm lets me see Him in a greater degree than from before and I
come to know His ways more and more. Another example in Mark 5:1-10.
…the devil walks about
like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. _1st Peter 5:8
The
solution to this kind of storm in my life is to exercise my spiritual
authority. Ephesians 6:10-12, 1st John 3:8, Revelation 12:11. And
to be confident in this, that nothing can separate me from the love of God
which is in Jesus Christ my Lord. May the Lord then grant us grace to endure
chastening and overcome the world. Amen.