"Abiding in the Word"

      “Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. ³⁷And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. ³⁸But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” ⁴¹And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” (Mark 4:36-41)
 

Those poor, shell-shocked people in Florida. Charles, Ivan, now Jean. “Hurricane Alley” is earning its reputation. One particular place where we went on vacation when the girls were small, Perdido Key, I am told does not exist anymore after Ivan passed by. The only remains of that pretty place near Destin are huge piles of sand and debris.

Spiritual storms are also deadly. Trouble in the church, people leaving in bunches, corrective discipline levied, hurt feelings, rumors, anger, half-truths, apathy. These and a thousand more “storm stories” could be told in almost every congregation. One thing is certain, if a storm has not visited your congregation yet, be patient - you ARE on the list.

Jesus didn’t let the storm on the sea bother Him (Is there a lesson there?). He likely would have slept through it completely had not His faithless followers jostled Him awake with their cries for help. But then, Jesus could do with the storm what they could not. He could stop it. And He did! (Perhaps another lesson for us.)

Our brief look a couple of Sundays ago at the seven churches of Asia Minor (Revelation 2-3) revealed that six out of seven were having troubles – significant ones. If the Lord is threatening to, “remove your lampstand (candlestick),” if the problem isn’t addressed and solved, THAT is a storm!

Likewise, the people of Florida (in a physical context) have nothing on the church at Corinth (in a spiritual context). Preacher-itis, division, adultery, being puffed up at adultery, suing brethren, divorce, giving, overactive desire for spiritual gifts, profaning the Lord’s body and His Supper. With Corinth, like Florida, it was one spiritual storm after another. Not surprising that Paul addresses the condition of “The House” at Corinth (the church). He says: ^“For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. ¹⁰According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. ¹¹For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:9-11).

The lesson is this: Since we KNOW the storms are coming, we had better pay attention to the foundation we have built on. The reason: When storms leave the turbulence of the waters where they thrive and reach solid ground they grow weak and eventually pass away. The same is true with the spiritual storms. The Lord sees us through them today just as He did in that little boat. But, only if our faith is built on Him and His Word as our foundation.

 The issue is really not the storm itself, but only our reaction. In the Lord’s own words: “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”

                                                                        - David Decker