Storm Season - The Sleeper in the Storm

Matthew 8:23-27 NIV 

[23] Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. [24] Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. [25] The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” [26] He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. [27] The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.8.23-27.NIV)

Ever since she was small, my wife has always loved sleeping when it’s raining outside. The gentle pitter-patter of raindrops on a corrugated tin roof provided a natural white noise machine that lulled her asleep. 

But storms are a different situation altogether. Even in the UK, where our houses are much stronger and build for bad weather, a big storm will keep her awake. 

Here we see the disciples somewhere that was, for most of them, their natural environment: the Sea of Galilee, where most of them were fishermen. They were planning to do a diagonal crossing from the northerly side of the lake to the south-east. It was something the disciples had likely done many times. 

But this time it was different. Very different. Things were about to go very wrong for them. 

We will join them in this journey and find out some crucial advice that we can apply when things start to go wrong in our life. 

A storm is about to hit. Actually, in a way, there are two storms here. 

The first of these is The Storm on the Lake. 

The Storm on the Lake 

Matthew 8:24 NIV 

[24] Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.8.24.NIV)

Last year we paid a visit to North America, breaking our journey in Iceland. It’s a very unique country. Quite stunning. But the weather is really something else. Our guide joked that in Iceland they say, ‘If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change.’ 

He wasn’t wrong. 

In one single day tour we encountered warm sunshine, strong winds and lashing rain, sometimes in places that were barely ten miles apart. It was extraordinary. 

But not for Icelanders. They are used to it  

The Sea of Galilee has volatile weather due to its geography. Sudden squalls and storms were not unexpected. The disciples would have known that. To a degree, they would have been used to it. 

But this storm appears to have caught them unawares. 

The Greek words used indicate a combination of strong, gale-force winds and very heavy rain. The Sea of Galilee was prone to sudden storms that would sweep down from the mountains surrounding it. This was one of them. 

What we see here is a sudden storm breaking in the one part of their lives where they were strong and in their comfort zone. Everything they knew was disrupted.  

This would have been a very distressing situation.  

We’ve all experienced it at some point. A sudden loss of our job or our health or a loved one. A sharp rise in interest rates that makes our mortgage payments impossible. An issue with our vehicle that we can’t afford to fix. A sudden and unexpected relationship issue. All of these things can strike us in places where we thought we were strong and leave us reeling and feeling, like the disciples, out of our depth and completely overwhelmed.  

It’s in times like that our prayer life suddenly springs alive. Maybe we have coasted by for years. Maybe we’ve never had much of a prayer life to speak of before. But when our strengths turn into weaknesses and our life spins out of control, all of a sudden we are begging God to intervene and bargaining and reasoning with Him to show up and change everything. 

That is when our lives can start to resemble this verse: 

Mark 4:38 NIV 

[38] Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.4.38.NIV)

It seems profoundly illogical, insensitive, and, if we’re honest, inconsiderate. The disciples were doing their best to keep their vessels afloat and to keep both them and Jesus alive. Yet He was sleeping! 

That single act leads us from the storm on the sea to The Storm in the Soul. 

The Storm in the Soul 

Mark 4:38 NIV 

[38] Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.4.38.NIV)

Have you ever had to make a really important phone call, but found yourself stuck on hold?

I’ve had to do it a few times. It’s a singularly frustrating experience. 

That does not even come close to what the disciples experienced here. Mark describes their situation like this: 

Mark 4:37 NIV 

[37] A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.4.37.NIV)

Luke, like this: 

Luke 8:23 NIV 

[23] 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. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/luk.8.23.NIV)

Yet Jesus was asleep! 

Have you ever felt like that? Your situation is pretty much overwhelming you. There doesn’t seem to be any help on the way, and even your own prayers appear to be going nowhere? 

That is where the disciples were. 

But look what happened to them. Not only were these fishermen falling apart in the boat, they had also turned on Jesus. Mark put it like this: 

Mark 4:38 NIV 

[38] Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.4.38.NIV)

Wow! He is not their Lord. He is not their God. He is nothing more than another Jewish rabbi, and more than that, one who practically abandons them in their hour of need. 

Have you ever lost your faith to that degree? Have you ever stopped seeing Jesus as your Lord and Saviour because He didn’t seem to be saving you right then and there? 

These disciples were panicked because they have lost sight of three things: 

Firstly, they had lost sight of what Jesus had done. 

Before this event on the Sea of Galilee, Matthew recorded three miracles in particular (a man with leprosy – Matthew 8:1-4, a centurions servant – Matthew 8:5-13, Peter’s mother-in-law – Matthew 8:14-15) as well as many others (Matthew 8:16-17). There was plenty of evidence there that Jesus cared about their bad situation and was able to do something about it: He could and He would. 

But due to the storm on the lake, they had lost sight of this. 

Secondly, they also lost sight of what Jesus had said.  Both Mark and Luke picked up that Jesus had said this to His disciples: 

Mark 4:35 NIV 

[35] That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.”  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.4.35.NIV)

Did they honestly think, even for one second, that Jesus would say that if they were not going to arrive? 

We often become anxious because we have forgotten all that Jesus has done for us in our past – or we are a relatively new Christian, what Jesus has done in the Bible and Christian history. Equally as dangerous is forgetting Jesus’ words: the things He said and promised, such as: 

Matthew 6:31-32 NIV 

[31] So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ [32] For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.6.31-32.NIV)

John 14:27 NIV 

[27] Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.14.27.NIV)

John 16:33 NIV 

[33]  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.16.33.NIV)

Forget these, and many, many other promises like them, and we absolutely put our own mental health – at the very least – at risk. 

This leads us to the third thing they forgot: Who Jesus Is. 

Look at how their question begins: ‘Teacher, don’t you care...?’. 

So is Jesus really to them just another common Jewish rabbi, and one who actually does not care at all for the welfare of His followers? 

Every ship needs an anchor. To stop the ship moving, every anchor needs to be attached to something solid. 

If we want an anchor point that will prevent the ship of our lives from drifting into deeper waters of suffering, there is only one that works: faith in the goodness of God. If we fail to lash ourselves to it, we damage our strength, our resilience and our ability to be patient in trouble. 

Think about it: if God is not good, then where is our hope of something better? Where is our sense of justice? Where is our confidence that suffering will end? 

If God is not good, none of those are strong. None of them are worth it. All will fail us. 

The reason why the disciples panicked and turned on Jesus is they had no idea who He really was, they did not know what He could really do and they had lost all thought that He loved them. 

That is really a sorry place to be. 

The storm on the sea was big and it was dangerous, but it was not abnormal or unexpected. The Sea of Galilee often had storms like that. 

But the storm in their soul was entirely self-inflicted and completely avoidable. Faith in the goodness of God and His Son Jesus Christ was their magnetic north pole, their north star, their horizon, their way out of the storm, but they missed it. 

Despite all Jesus had said and done, they barely knew Him. 

And, for some reason, didn’t trust Him.  

And that just made things worse. 

We have seen the double-headed storm on the sea and in their souls. What we see lastly is The Calm of Faith. 

The Calm of Faith 

Matthew 8:26 NIV 

[26] He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.8.26.NIV)

During the summer, we had to dash back to the Philippines at short notice because my wife's father had passed away. God was so good to us and gave us brilliant flights. On the flight back, the flight path skirted northern India and took us along the Himalayas.  

It was, without doubt, one of the longest turbulent flights I have ever been on. It went on for hours. I’d have loved to have slept, but the constant shaking kept stirring me. 

But at no point was I tempted to criticise the pilot or to take his place. I can’t fly a plane. Not even a small one. Certainly not a huge Boeing 777. 

What we see here is quite extraordinary. No wonder it took the disciples by surprise. Jesus calmed the storm! Just like that! With the word of His mouth. 

Wow! 

But I want you to see how Jesus dealt with this. 

The first storm He calmed was the storm in their soul. And He did that by rebuking their lack of faith. 

And that’s important. He dealt with the most important thing first. They had doubted Him. They had doubted what He’d done and said and who He was. Before He dealt with the wind and the waves, the more important waves to deal with were the waves of doubt in their souls.

The waves on the sea had almost sunk them. 

The waves in their souls had completely sunk them. 

Now He was saving them from themselves. 

Because our faith is critical when we pass through the storms of life. As James said: 

James 1:2-3 NIV 

[2] Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, [3] because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.1.2-3.NIV)

And also Paul: 

Romans 5:1-5 NIV 

[1] Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, [2] through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. [3] Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; [4] perseverance, character; and character, hope. [5] And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/rom.5.1-5.NIV)

The writer of the Hebrews also wrote this: 

Hebrews 11:6 NIV 

[6] And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/heb.11.6.NIV)

If we stop seeking Him during the storms of life and suddenly decide that it’s not worth it, that’s when we lose the hope we need to persevere, and that is when everything falls apart for us and we end up an anxious mess. 

It’s not at all surprising to me that Peter was one of the disciples in that boat and he wrote these words: 

1 Peter 1:3-7 NIV 

[3] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, [4] and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, [5] who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. [6] In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. [7] These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1pe.1.3-7.NIV)

Faith in God that He is good leads to hope that one day your storms will be over, and that, in turn, leads to strength and resilience. 

That is precisely why Jesus dealt with it first. 

He then dealt with The Storm on the Sea by rebuking the storm so that it ceased. 

What a miracle! 

Yet this miracle was, again, with a purpose. That purpose wasn’t just to save them from this storm, but to help them through the other storms they would later face.

How? 

By showing conclusively who He was. 

Look what the Psalmist said about God: 

Psalms 89:8-9 NIV 

[8] Who is like you, Lord God Almighty? You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you. [9] You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.89.8-9.NIV)

Psalms 107:23-29 NIV 

[23] Some went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. [24] They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep. [25] For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. [26] They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. [27] They reeled and staggered like drunkards; they were at their wits’ end. [28] Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. [29] He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.107.23-29.NIV)

Do you see it? This wasn’t a sleight of hand conjuring trick. This was as clear and unmistakable a statement as any that Jesus is Divine, that Jesus is God. They would need this miracle when rougher storms of life would beset them: in persecution, arrest, martyrdom. Here, in this fierce squall, and its aftermath, Jesus was equipping them for a greater storm that lay ahead. 

Yes, Jesus rebuked them before He rebuked the storm, but not without reason. They had forgotten the one thing that would get them through the storms of life. Jesus, in a singularly act of grace, was giving them what they needed to get it back. 

Conclusion 

Matthew 8:27 NIV 

[27] The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.8.27.NIV)

We have been on several flights where the crew has called for a doctor to assist them. They had a passenger with a specific need. They had to find someone who could meet that need. Then they would assess whether the patient would be find to continue the journey or whether it has to be interrupted. 

In life there are often occasions when we need something or someone very specific. If we have a burst pipe, we don’t call an electrician. If we have a broken window, we don’t call a plumber. If we have a dental problem, we don’t call a building contractor. 

I’m afraid that five years ago, during the Covid Pandemic, we quickly learned what happens when you put the wrong person in the wrong job. 

When it comes to the storms of life, the right person for the job of bringing us through it to the peace on the other side is Jesus Christ and Him alone. Nothing else and no-one else can do it. Sex, drugs, alcohol, music, even meditation, cannot help us. They may help us escape for a while, but sooner or later we will find ourselves right back in same storm from which we had sought refuge. At best they delay the problem. At worst, they make it a lot worse. 

Only Jesus saves. 

So if you have no faith in Him, or worse, you had faith in Him but then lost it, you are in major trouble. 

These disciples experienced a huge storm on the lake – a lake with which they were very familiar. There is no doubt that that storm was overwhelming – it was almost sinking their boats.  

But the bigger storm, the one that did break them, was the storm in their souls. 

What was the root cause of their serious anxiety? 

They lost faith in God’s goodness and didn’t realise who Jesus was: that He was God and that He was good. 

Just like storms were to be expected at times on Lake Galilee, so we should expect that storms will come in our lives, and not at all be surprised when they come. 

But if we stay strong in our belief that God is good, that He is fair, just, righteous, love and that He is working our every situation for our good, then even life’s biggest storms will not sink us. 

Because we will be anchored to the immovable rock: 

God Himself. 

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, I am sorry for the times I have given way to anxiety and stopped believing that You are good. I confess them to You and ask You to forgive me. Help me, because I believe in You and I know my suffering is not forever. I trust in You. Amen. 

Questions for Contemplation 

• The disciples faced a huge storm on Lake Galilee. Were they right to fear it? 

• What did they say to Jesus that was so wrong? Why was it wrong? 

• What does this teach us about how we should react in the storms of life?