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Finding Peace in Crisis
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Jesus had been teaching the multitudes from a boat, and when he finished, he said to his disciples, "Let us cross over to the other side." Notice that he didn't say, "Let us go and perish in the middle of the lake of Galilee." He made them a promise: they would cross over to the other side.
They took Jesus as he was—perhaps there was no time for preparation, no time to send back messages or bring him a warm cloak. As they set sail, a great windstorm arose. The Sea of Galilee was known for sudden and violent storms, and this was a major one. These experienced fishermen feared for their lives. Water was filling the boats, and waves were lashing at the sides.
Meanwhile, where was Jesus? He was sleeping on a boat.
Jesus was fully man and fully God. As a man, there were many things on his mind. The political leaders were plotting to kill him. The religious leaders were trying to trap him. His family thought he was crazy. Gethsemane was coming. The cross was ahead. Yet with all these things weighing on him, the Bible says that Jesus slept. His sleep was not just a sleep of weariness—it was a rest of faith.
Today, a storm has arisen in our world. Like the disciples, we are in a panic. The coronavirus disease is a major storm, and no one knows how long it will go on. The cry is like the cry of the disciples: "We're dying! We're perishing!"
All over the world, panic is spreading. Rumors and fake news add to the confusion. Fear is everywhere. Panic buying has emptied shelves. Some people are even drinking chloroquine out of fear, leaving doctors to treat chloroquine overdose instead of coronavirus cases. In my entire life, I cannot recall an experience like this. Not in a hundred years has anyone seen the kind of thing we're experiencing today.
At this point, the disciples had had enough. They went and shook Jesus: "Rabbi, wake up! Jesus, wake up! We're dying!"
Notice what it took to wake him. The wind didn't wake him. The waves didn't wake him. The arguing of the disciples didn't wake him. The water splashing didn't wake him. But the cry of his disciples—that caused him to arise.
"Don't you care that we're dying? Don't you care that the world is in trouble? Jesus, you had better wake up!" Perhaps they thought, "Why aren't you bailing out the water? Why are you doing nothing?"
But here's the truth: if Jesus was asleep on a boat, all the disciples should have found pillows for themselves. Instead, they were screaming, "We're dying! We're perishing! We're afraid! We'll never be healed!"
We extend this to our own lives: "My health is in trouble. My marriage is failing. I see no way out of my situation. My needs. My future. I'm struggling. There's no way out. My children. And what makes it worse is, you look at Jesus—he appears to be sleeping. He appears to be ignoring you."
The truth is, the more you look to the world, the less you see the answer that God is providing. People who do not look to God always look for sympathy. You find them throwing pity parties, inviting everyone to share their sorrow. You find them counting their sorrows in your presence.
This happened to Martha as well. She said to Jesus, "Do you not care that I'm the only one who's working?" Martha was in the flesh. The disciples were reacting in the flesh. They had turned their eyes from the spiritual to the physical.
Proverbs 4:20–23 is so key at this time:
My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes. Do not let my word depart from your eyes. Keep them in the midst of your heart, for they are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of your heart spring the issues of life.
The greatest danger for the child of God today is to allow situations to take your focus away from the word of God. The enemy wants to get your attention away from Jesus. The enemy wants you to blame God, to make you think he doesn't care.
We've got to put our focus on the word of God. Remember what the Bible says:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him there was nothing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. And the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us.
Jesus and his word are one. The reason why it seems there is no way out of our challenges is that we take our focus away from the word. We focus on the storms of life instead. That's why it seems we cannot solve our problems—because we're running to and fro looking for solutions. It's time to go back to the word of God.
We frequently take our eyes off God and onto our circumstances, and we begin to panic. But God says, "Attend to my word. Give attention to my word. Do not allow it to depart from your eyes." God knows the power of looking into his word.
Today there is shaking. The world is going through a shaking. I preached a message years ago titled "If It Can Be Shaken, It Will Be Shaken." The things we believed in have been shaken. The people we looked up to have been shaken. Systems are being shaken. Governments have been shaken. Whatever you're holding on to will be shaken, and you will be shaken along with it.
But Hebrews 12:26–28 says something powerful:
His voice shook the earth. Now he has promised again, "Yet once more I shake not only the earth but also the heaven." Now this "yet once more" indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken would remain. Therefore, since we have received a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.
We have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. We have an eternal foundation. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It's time to put your focus back on God. It's time to seek God like never before.
Jesus woke up and said, "We didn't come this far to die." He rebuked the wind and spoke peace to the sea. Today I speak peace into your life. I speak to your fears. I speak healing to your heart and to your mind. I release the mercy of God upon you. I release God's grace over your life. For those of you who are feeling lonely and isolated, may God preserve you. May his hand come upon you. May the Spirit of God rest upon you. May God heal your heart and encourage you.
Be encouraged today: God is sitting on his throne. He has not abdicated his responsibility. God is still in charge.
Notice that Jesus did not just quiet the sea. The Bible says he rebuked the winds—and that's the same word the Bible uses when Jesus spoke to demons. It looks like it was just the weather, but it had become a spiritual battle out there in the boat.
Many of us today are now in a battle. The enemy has caged us. The enemy has caged our minds. Today, may you be set free from any spirit of oppression. I decree to you that God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind. We speak to those fears. We pull down those strongholds. We stand in aggression against the plans of the enemy to bring you down. We speak against those things that have brought anxiety into your heart. May God garrison your heart with his peace and his mind.
When Jesus had rebuked the storm and the waves and spoken calm, he turned to the disciples and rebuked them as well. He said, "Why were you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?"
I don't know who I'm addressing today, but I'm asking you the same questions. In fact, Jesus your Savior is asking you the same questions: Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?
Notice Jesus didn't focus on the storm. Jesus didn't say, "What a terrifying storm!" In a sense, it wasn't the storm bothering Jesus. It wasn't the epidemic. It wasn't the pandemic. It wasn't the coronavirus situation that bothered Jesus. The problem was the unbelief of his disciples. His shock was that in the midst of the storm, his disciples couldn't find faith. Thunderstorms and waves were challenges, but they did not shock Jesus. His shock was that he found no faith among his disciples.
Let me tell you what really bothered Jesus as I close. First, he had said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side." He didn't say, "Let us do our best and try to cross over. We may or may not make it." He made them a promise. A safe arrival. God has promised you a safe arrival. What he has spoken into your life must come to pass. Jesus expected his disciples to trust his promises. They did not. That was what surprised him.
Secondly, what made him say they had no faith was that they accused Jesus of insensitivity and lack of care toward the world. When we think God doesn't see or know our problems, or doesn't understand the situation we're in, when we act or think that God does not care—it's because we have no faith. It takes great faith to trust the sleep in Jesus, to know that God cares and works for us even when it looks like he doesn't. It takes faith to believe that God is in control of your life.
Thirdly, the disciples forgot the big picture. They should have known that God would never allow the Messiah to die in the Sea of Galilee. Our fears are often irrational and unfounded. When we look back, we realize how silly we were. How could Jesus have died in a boat? We've got to see the big picture. There's something God is working out in the nations of the world.
Finally, it was like Jesus saying, "Of all people, you are my disciples. You should know better. After all I've done for you. After all I've taught you." Today I pray faith would arise in your heart.
Daniel said, "The people who know their God shall be strong and shall do exploits." This is a time of exploits. This is a time to walk in the knowledge of God. There's something in the heart and mind of God, and he is looking for faithful disciples who can walk in faith and walk alongside him to bring about what's in his mind.
I pray for you today that all your fears will be still, that all your troubles would vanish, and that your faith will be strong in the days ahead. May God calm every raging storm in your life. Remember, Jesus walked on that same Sea of Galilee, so he's the master of the sea. He's the master of your situation. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
May God bless you. May God keep you. May God encourage you. May God sustain you. May he preserve you—your coming in and your going out. May you dwell in his sacred place. May you abide under his shadow. This is your time, child of God. God bless you.
