For the past few days, I have started two blogs just to quit and save them to my draft file a few minutes later; I didn't feel like they were good enough or the one I wanted to post in that moment. But that all changed this morning, when my family and I braved the forecasted weather and headed to the beach. I have never heard or felt so much wind; the waters were so rough no one could get in. The sand was blowing everywhere, and we had to pack up our tent so it didn't blow away. There was a mist blowing off the sea, and gray clouds began to gather across the sky and in that moment, God reminded me of the story in Mark 4, where Jesus and his disciples got in a boat and started traveling to the other side of the area. A great, fierce storm came about and made the waves big, and the wind strong. The disciples, with no faith, were sure the boat would sink. Jesus was resting in another part of the boat during the storm. Some disciples ran to him and said 'Lord, do you not care that we are about to drown?' Jesus went to the middle of the boat, and commanded the winds to die down, the waves to calm, the rain to cease, and the storm to blow away. And there stood the disciples in awe of what their Master had just done. He asked them why they were so afraid? Had they not seen what He had done in the past? [Read the true story for yourself - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%204:35-41&version=MSG ] Let's take one more look at that last line... Had they not seen what He had done in the past? Boy, did that hit me hard. As I stood there on the beach, playing Bache Ball with my dad, brother and uncle, I couldn't help but stare into the sea and watch as the waves crashed onto the shore, and it's background grew darker and darker. I tried to capture this beautiful and overwhelming scene in the picture below but you just had to be there. All afternoon I have been thinking about the disciples in the boat during the storm and how this wasn't the first miracle they had seen Jesus perform. My dad has reminded myself and our church of that as he's been preaching through the book of Mark in the Bible, the disciples just didn't get it..(you should check out this sermon after you finish reading my blog - http://oxfordbaptist.com/content.cfm?id=213&download_id=72 )
After thinking about what Jesus had done for the disciples and how they had witnessed many other great things before that, I started thinking about the storms in my life and how I was just like the disciples, no faith that Jesus could bring me through and that I'd make it to the other side. Let me let you in on a small storm that is present in my life. If you know me, this might sound crazy, but I am really nervous about starting college in a few weeks. New teachers, new classmates, bigger classrooms and bigger subjects. This has probably hit other college freshmen, I'm sure and if you are one of them, you may know how I feel. On top of that, I am still unsure of what God wants me to be, where he wants me to go, what he wants me to do. So taking these classes, and trying to plan for after college is kind of stressing me out. Those are the two biggest and darkest clouds in my storm. Jesus calmed the storm that day on the Sea of Galilee; Why am I not sure that He can calm my storm today? So after spending some time reflecting over my faith and trust in God, and being content sometimes in the pit of knowing God is faithful but not trusting Him to be faithful in my "storm", I have asked for forgiveness and help trusting Him more and more everyday. It's not everyday that we are physically reminded of Jesus' power and faithfulness, but I am very thankful I was today. Before you start judging or looking at me, the pastor's daughter, for not trusting God to calm my storm and bring me to the other side, please think about the storms of your life and if you are, like me and the disciples, having no faith in the Creator of the storms. In the end, none of us are perfect, and there will always be storms in our lives that will scare us, but would it not be great to walk through or 'sail' through the storms of life, with compete faith that Jesus already knows what the other side of the storm looks like, and we can rest (like Jesus did that night in the boat) knowing we can make it to the other side. So whatever your storm consists of, whether going back to school, entering college, work relationships, family or friend issues, know that your storm will never be too big for our God. Have faith...take some time to talk with God about the storms of your life, I promise He knows what you need. Abby Comments are closed.
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Author20 year-old experiencing the ups & downs of life with the Creator & Sustainer of the World Archives
October 2017
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