When Overwhelmed in the Middle of a Storm (Mk 6:45-51; Jn 6:15-21; Mt 14:22-33)

by Pastor Cesar Crisostomo |  September 16, 2018

Learning to Live in Confidence with the Lord | When Overwhelmed in the Middle of a Storm

Mark 6:45-51; John 6:15-21; Matthew 14:22-33

When you and I are overwhelmed in the middle of a storm, there is no doubting that the Lord wants us to know today that He is not far away and distant from us. Understanding that the Lord have not forgotten about us, that He will show up just in time and take us through the other side of life’s challenging circumstances. Yes, the struggle is real, the physical issues we deal with doesn’t seem to go away, circumstances are against us and whether we got into it by some failure on our own part or it was just thrown in our way or maybe it seems that the forces of darkness is coming right at us, you and I need to believe that we will not go under and sink because God is with us.
I am sure that you would agree that lately, parts of our world, including our island have been overwhelmed by storms. In some cases, storms so destructive in many ways. Understand that the Bible is full of lessons about storms.

• There was the great flood in the days of Noah that happened. There is a lesson here about judgment. That sin can only go so far but eventually it brings judgment from God (Genesis chapters 6 through 8).
• There was the story of Jonah and the storm he got caught in. Here God uses storms to get people adjusted in their viewpoints, straightened out and re-targeted on what their life is about (Jonah chapters 1 through 4).
• There is the storm Jesus talked about when He finished the Sermon on the Mount. Here Jesus emphasized not just hearing His voice, His commands but also doing them. That those who hear and don’t obey are like those who built on the sand and when the storm came, the house fell with a great crash even though it looked like the other house that was built on the Rock (Matthew 7:24-27; Luke 6:47-49).
• In Matthew 14, this is one of two events in the Gospels in the life of Jesus in which Jesus is on the Sea of Galilee with His disciples. In one of them, He is in the boat and a storm comes (Mark 4:35-41; Matthew 8:18,23-27; Luke 8:22-25). In that situation Jesus stills the storm. In this particular one, Jesus was not with the disciples when they start. This event is a picture of life and the lessons we face. Storms are symbolic of life’s circumstances. Sometimes a storm brings a blessing in the form of much needed rain. You don’t necessarily enjoy getting wet, but in the long-term, it is a good thing. Now there is the other category, the typhoons and tornadoes. Like the story of Job in which the Bible says a mighty wind came through and destroyed the house where his children were and killed them (Job chapter 1). We are told that the mighty wind was brought by Satan himself. Understanding that not every mighty wind is from the devil, but the Bible tells us that one was. In other words, along with storms that can be a blessing, there are storms that are satanic in origin and destructive.

The wind at Matthew 14:24 represents a kind of storm, but not so much a destructive one. This is not something that brings the disciples to destruction. This is not the same as the other time when they said, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” This time around they are just laboring against the wind. What we see is that “the wind was against” them. In the original language the word simply means “opposite.” The winds were opposite them. That is the kind of thing that often gets our lives overwhelmed. There is a goal we have, and everything seems to be against it. It could be people are against it, or lack of resources are against it. This is a picture of life’s circumstances that we all face. Circumstances that are not about to sink or destroy us completely, but they do tire us out and we find our strength is draining and the goals we hoped to finish are hindered and we can’t seem to get there.

What to remember when we are overwhelmed in the middle of a storm.

1. You and I need to settle in our heart and accept that God has a plan in all of it. His hands are in the circumstance.

• Jesus “made them” (v.22) get into the boat. In the original language the word means to force the situation. Jesus compelled, required them to get in the boat. I believe Jesus was not unaware about what is going to take place out in the lake. It is no surprise to Him that the winds would come up. There was a plan in it. Remember Jesus made them get in the boat. This is a picture of circumstance that you and I face where we have no choice. We are in a difficult situation and we did not have anything to do with how we got there. A situation where you are not compromising yourself, but you are just going through something you had no way of controlling. Familia, the Lord has put us in circumstances knowing what we would face, but it is not because He designed the adversity or the problem, but He has assigned our involvement in the circumstance and to settle something in our heart. I think He is showing us that life with Him is not just a continuation of miracles without times of struggle in-between. There are people who mistakenly believe that if you are a real person of faith that any problem you face will just go away with a wave of a magic stick.

2. You may be stretched and stressed by the difficulty of the circumstance but understand that the Lord is sensitive to the struggle you are facing and when He sees you straining, struggling against the wind, He goes out to you (Mark 6:48).

• The word “straining.”
• Describes the struggle people go through when they are involved in legal situations that are just pressing all over them and brings great strain. It is a long-term situation of something being settled and it is having a wearying effect on them.
• Another way the word is used is the distress of a severe affliction. It could be a medical disease people would like to get over with, but they can’t seem to shake it off. It could be mental struggles that are not even necessarily due to mental illness but just strains the mind. It could be that there are things that happen emotionally.
• Another is straining because you are surrounded by pressure of circumstance of living or working in an environment that is ungodly, filled with darkness.
• Another is torment that comes from satanic attack (Revelation 12:12). Satan is our worse enemy and he comes to destroy, to tire us out, and to hinder the path God has for us.

Familia, God sees our struggles and He cares. When Jesus looked out over the lake, He sees the disciples straining and goes to them. Whatever struggles you and I are having to endure, the Lord sees and knows the right time to come. Not only He is willing, but He will be there for us. He is on His way even now. Today, let us realize and settle in our hearts that when we are overwhelmed in the middle of a storm, that the presence of the Lord is the answer. It is the presence that comes in our heart when we recognize and rest in knowing that God has a plan in the midst of whatever we are dealing with. It doesn’t mean He created the problem, but He can surely prepare us to deal with it. There will come an end, remember when Jesus got in the boat, they were immediately at the other side (John 6:21). When the end comes, it comes quickly, but it’s the getting there that tries our heart, our inner most being.