Redeemer Lutheran Church

1106 Shreveport-Barksdale Hwy

Shreveport, LA  71105

(318) 868-5778

Pastor Perry Culver

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The Storms of Life

The sermon text today comes from the Gospel reading where Jesus is asleep in a boat when a massive storm rocks the boat and starts flooding it. Storms have a way of getting our attention. If you have ever been in a really bad storm, you know that it consumes your attention. Our lives are also filled with storms. Not just weather related storms, but storms of trials that affect us personally and maybe even our spouse or families. No one asks for these types of storms. These times of trouble in our life can easily be recalled, because bad storms are not easily forgotten. With storms usually comes pain and destruction. Storms expose our weaknesses and frailty. We yearn for peace. One of my favorite Christian singers, Ray Boltz, wrote a song titled "The Anchor Holds". The lyrics are as follows:

I have journeyed

through the long dark night

out on the open sea

by faith alone

sight unknown

and yet his eyes were watching me

the anchor holds

though the ship is battered

the anchor holds

though the sails are torn

I have fallen on my knees

as I faced the raging seas

the anchor holds

in spite of the storm

I've had visions

I've had dreams

I've even held them in my hand

but I never knew

they would slip right through

like they were only grains of sand

I have been young

but I am older now

and there has been beauty these eyes have seen

but it was in the night

through the storms of my life

oh thats where God proved his love to me.

Whenever I am down and feel defeated, I like to play this song, because it causes me quit focusing on my troubles, my problems, my storms, and to focus on God. To a Christian, God is the anchor that holds the ship, though the ship is battered and the sails are torn. In the Old Testament reading today, Job, had lost everything… his wife, children, wealth, livestock, and health. He was battling one of those storms, when he questions God. Storms often expose us for who we are. Here Job was questioning God…. And God put Job in his place.

Storms are part of our life. God quickly reminds Job that he is the Creator. Not only did he create the earth, heaven, and stars,… he also created Job. How could Job counsel or teach God? Storms often cause us to become so bold that we loose sight of God’s plan for us. We often make ourselves out to be bigger than we are. Storms often expose us and we learn from them.

Getting back to the Gospel lesson, Jesus is sleeping in the stern of the boat. The storm must have come quickly and it must have been fierce. Let’s not forget the fact that some of the disciples were experienced fishermen! They were familiar with boats, weather, and they were scared! Water was coming in over the boat and they feared for their lives! Like Job, these experienced fishermen, woke Jesus up and questioned Him and said "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"!!! … They are accusing Jesus of not caring about them. This is how we often react in the midst of storms. The storms, which God brings or allows into our lives, often give us the impression that He is sleeping and doesn’t care about us. The disciples had been spending a lot of time with Jesus, but they really didn’t know who He was. They had seen Him heal people, but it still had not sunk into them. They were mostly seeing His human nature, not His divine nature.

In our lives, we all wish we could avoid these types of storms. Isn’t it peaceful when you wake up in the morning, only to find out you slept through a large storm? You think, WOW, I must have really been out of it. Well, even when Jesus was sleeping, He is in control and governing events for our benefit. He used this storm to teach his disciples. He could have even caused the storm in the first place! Jesus is God and this is what he shows them. Jesus "rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still." And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. Up to this point, the disciples were getting tidbits of information as to the divine nature of Jesus. When He controls the wind, waves, and sea, they are astonished. They respond "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?" We are not talking about healing a sick person, this guy, just controlled the weather. WHO IS HE? . . . He must be God!

There is a Gospel message in this lesson. Just as Jesus lets the storms come into our lives, so he also stills them when they have served His purpose. God uses storms to teach us, to get our attention, or to bring our focus on to Him. He allowed the storm to hit Job, he allowed the storm that day in the boat with the disciples, and he allows storms to hit us today. And when those storms come, … He stills them when they have served his purpose.

The disciples, even in the presence of Jesus, continued fear and lack of faith. Like the disciples, we too continue to doubt Him and question Him. Jesus has the power to read the disciples hearts. He never rebukes the disciples for their rude questioning. It is Jesus who calms the storm. It is Jesus who calms the wind. It is Jesus who calms the sea. It is Jesus who brings peace. He is the one that died on the cross for our sins. The Book of Matthew, 27 chapter, verse 45 tells us that at Jesus crucifixion, "From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land." This would have been around noon time when darkness came over all the land. Jesus, though he was without sin, became sin itself. He was sin personified as he took on all the sin of the world! Not just the sin of those people back then, but He took on ALL SIN … OVER ALL THE WORLD … FOR ALL TIMES!!! Every sin you commit today, He bore on the cross. The Gospel message is that Jesus calms the storms in our life through His life, death, and resurrection on the cross.

Just as Ray Boltz song mentioned earlier, though the ship is batter, though the sails are torn, the anchor holds in the midst of the storms. It is comforting to know that our Savior Jesus Christ is our anchor that holds during the roughest of storms. Even when we are afraid, he is there with us during the storms of life. When we ask those questions much like the disciples: "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" Our Savior is not only man, but God! In the midst of the storm, Christ is our anchor and our lighthouse, always watching out for us. He does care about you.

Amen.