Caught in the Storm

There is a story in Acts 27 that talks about how Paul was shipwrecked on an island called Malta on his way to Rome for trials. Prior to that, the Angel of the Lord had assured him about the storm that no one on board was going to perish, as long as they remained with the ship (Acts 27:31).

From today’s text, we can see that having Jesus with them in the boat didn’t mean the disciples wouldn’t experience the storm. But how they responded to that storm, with Jesus in the boat, did make a difference. They called on Him in their storm.

In the story of another storm, Simon Peter was walking on the water to Jesus. But, when he focussed on the storm and began to sink, he called out to Jesus. He cried out, “Lord save me” (Matthew 14:30).

Let’s not forget that Jesus had called Simon Peter to walk on the water, that God had told Paul that he would stand trial in Rome before Caesar, and Jesus had told His disciples, “Let’s go to the other side.”

They were not acting on their own accord, because they were obeying the will of God. Yet they were caught up in a storm. So, being in a storm doesn’t necessarily mean we have done something wrong, or that we are not in line with God’s will. What matters is how we respond in the storm. Do we call out to Jesus? Or do we try to save ourselves and lean on our own understanding, and not trust God in the storm?

‘“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor!”’ (Psalms 107:28-30).

And that’s God’s heart for us, that we should respond by crying out to Him when we are caught up in a storm. We are to put our trust in the One who created the winds and the waves, the One who can speak to them. God can save us by taking us through the storm until we run aground, as He did when Paul was shipwrecked, or He can save us by rebuking the storm and telling it to cease, as He did with the disciples in the boat.

Whatever way God chooses to save us, let’s not give up. For the storm won’t last, and we can trust that He who watches over Israel, the all-knowing, all-powerful and omnipresent God, is watching over us, not from a distance, but right with us in any storm we might find ourselves in.