And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.
Matthew 8:24
I love watching storms…it is so refreshing and invigorating to see a storm roll through. There is something about hearing thunder and lightning. Yet, being IN a storm is totally different! Recently, I flew through thunderclouds, which made the Disney rollercoasters seem like puff cakes…and I vividly remember one time being in the Gulf of Alaska on a sightseeing vessel, when a storm with 8-foot waves hit. We were literally rocking and rolling! Martin Luther, too encountered a great storm in his life physically, which led him to turn to the ministry.
Storms come quickly often times…and occasionally unexpectedly. The storms of life hit us this way! Storms of cancer, storms of job loss, storms of divorce, storms of discouragement, distress and discord hit suddenly, quickly, and ROCK OUR LIFE!
A storm hit quickly for the disciples, and there was Jesus…SLEEPING! God himself asleep in the midst of the storm that was great enough for the disciples not only to be scared, but also to write about it in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke).
It’s normal in the storm to think Jesus is asleep. He’s not though, because He has us. He has the vision to work through the storm…to provide peace, comfort, and goodness, even when we can’t see it. The famous hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” was written by a Chicago lawyer who had lost everything, from his business, to his children lost at sea…and yet as he traversed across the very sea that held the bodies of his four girls he penned this verse:
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul
Jesus is awake, and His victory over the grave has calmed each storm. We eagerly await the victorious trumpet call that will bring about only sunny days basking in the warmth of the SON!
Amen!
Rev. Greg S. Griffith '99
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Macomb, MI