While we’re in the storm.

The coronavirus pandemic, the November election, mask mandates, school closures, nation-wide protests, de-funding the police….

It seems like we barely get our heads above water amid the storms of 2020 and then another wave hits.

I have watched as so many struggle against these waves, cursing at them and doing everything in their power to resist their force. I’ve watched as others crumble under their weight, giving into their influence and sinking down against their pressure.

And as I watch, as our country divides, as evil runs rampant, and as person after person cowers beneath the great bully of fear, I realize afresh, like a cool summer rain,

Jesus Christ is our only hope.

In Mark chapter 4, this truth rings clear.

” On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”

Amid panic and chaos, fear and anxiety, the Prince of Peace slept still. He slept because fear didn’t control him. His Father did.

He slept because just as he was completely submitted to the Father’s will, so too were the wind and the waves.

He slept because he knew, as surely as he knew he was alive,
the presence of the storm did not equate the absence of His Father.

We too are in a storm. And at times it is so tempting to point our fingers to heaven and say, “Hey you up there! God! Don’t you care we are perishing?”

“Don’t you care about the people dying from Coronavirus? Don’t you care about the neighborhoods being ransacked in Portland and the christian brothers and sisters fighting about masks and the results of the 2020 election?”

But the God who made the sand and the sea also made viruses and germs, he gave power and position to not only Donald Trump, but also Joe Biden and though he cares we are in a storm,
he is not surprised by it.

If anything, perhaps, he was the one who sent it.

For just as his disciples needed a reminder that he was the one with all power and authority, he alone was the Savior, and he alone was their only hope, we need that reminder too.

We need it every day.

“Why are you so fearful?”the Father says, as we watch the waves and tremble. “How is it that you have no faith?”

And the lightning flashes so bright, the storm clouds loom so heavy, the thunder roars and rumbles and the sky grows black and dark…
and worst of all, amid all the trauma, it feels like God is sleeping.

But take heart.

Take your eyes off the waves.

Instead of pointing your fingers at God, or accusing him of not caring, just lay next to him in the boat, trusting fully in his power and grace.

Maybe the storm will stop, or maybe it will continue. Regardless of the outcome, we know who is in control.

Please, don’t argue about the origin of the clouds and don’t obsess over watching the weather patterns. You can’t do anything to stop the wind and waves. So instead, cry out to the one who can. Cling to him. Trust him. Share his truth.

Keep looking to Jesus, even while we’re in the storm.