22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.

23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.

25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.

33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

Matthew 14:22-33 (KJV)

In this passage of the Scripture, we find the disciples of our Lord trapped in the grip of a fierce or extreme storm. They find themselves in that storm because they have been commanded by the Lord to cross the Sea of Galilee. These men are in the will of the Lord and yet, we see them struggling against the storm. Try as they might, however, it appears that they are unable to make any headway. The wind is in their faces. These 12 men are stuck in a storm and are unable to get out.

Have you ever found yourself in that place? Have you ever found yourself stuck in one of life’s storms, and no matter how hard you try, no matter what you do, it seems that you cannot make any headway or advance?

Well, we all have times like that! It may seem like the storm will never end and that there is no possible good that can come from what we are facing. Thankfully, however, there is some good news for us this morning from the word of God. While the storms of life are never pleasant, they do produce certain benefits in our lives that we would do well to make note of this morning. (Hebrews 12:11)

Storms are God’s means of transportation

The very thing the disciples feared, the sea, was the very thing the Lord used as the vehicle to reveal Himself unto them. He will do the same in your life and mine. Notice how Jesus came to them that night.

He comes in the face of darkness.
The Bible says that Jesus came to them in “the fourth watch.” Sometime between 3 AM and 6 AM, during the darkest hours of the night, Jesus came walking on the water! We may be facing some of the darkest days of our life right now. Remember that our God is ever with us. (Hebrews 13:5)

He comes in the face of disaster.
The disciples were in a fight for their lives. Mark 6:48 says that they were toiling in rowing. That is, they were struggling against the storm. When they thought all hope was gone and everything seems helpless that they were doomed, Jesus came walking on the waves!

There are times when we all feel like we have lost the battle with our storm. When we feel we are defeated and totally hopeless, remember that the Lord is in control of our blessings. He is also in charge and taking care of our storms. When things look the bleakest, just look around. Jesus is about to show up! Remember, He may not keep us from going into the storm, but He will keep us in the midst of the storm!

He comes on the face of the deep.
The very thing the disciples feared, the raging sea, was the very thing God used as His vehicle to come to them. What a testimony this was! He was not telling them that the storm was not fierce, He was telling them that He was greater than the storm!

Regardless of what we are facing in life, remember that Jesus is greater than that storm we may be facing. If we will be patient and wait for Him, He will show up right on time. We will see that the storm was used by the Lord to make Himself clear to us. The very thing we fear will be the vehicle He uses to show us in our lives!

Storms are God’s means of testing

They reveal the Savior.
When Jesus did come walking on the water, the disciples did not recognize Him. They thought He was a ghost. They cried out in fear. But thank God, Jesus came with a message of peace and of power.

  • He came to them with a word of peace, “be of good cheer.”
  • He came to them with a word of power, “It is I”.
  • He came to them with a word of potential, “be not afraid.”

They refine the saint.
When Peter heard that it was the Lord, Peter wanted to join Jesus in walking on the water.

Jesus simply told Peter to come. Peter obeyed and he too walked on the water. Jesus used the storm as a means of helping Peter grow in his faith.

When the storms of life are howling all about us, if we can get hold of the truth that Jesus is the Master of the Storm, then we too can rise above our circumstances and walk on the waves with the Lord.

They remind the saint.
Peter wanted to walk on water like Jesus. He put the Lord to the test and stepped onto the waves. However, he soon took his eyes off the Lord and when he did, he found himself in trouble. He remembered who was in control and he called on the Lord and found the help he needed.

The storms of life also serve to remind us of who is in control. Like Peter, there are times when we get our eyes off the Lord during our storms. When we do, we are doomed to fail.

We need to remember who is in charge of this whole thing. You see, if we successfully navigate the stormy waters of life, we deserve no credit for our abilities or our success. If we are successful, it is because there is One who is greater than we are holding our hand!

Our success in the storms of life hinges upon our being willing to acknowledge Jesus as the Master of the storm.

Storms are God’s means of testimony

They testify of His power
Jesus calmed the storm! He didn’t say a thing, He just got into the boat with the disciples, and the sea was calm. Jesus is the Master of the Sea and He is the Master of the Storm as well.

They testify of His person
When Jesus stilled the storm, the disciples knew that they were in the presence of God. They confessed Him and they bowed before Him in worship. His power in the storms and over the storms of life testify of His person. They tell us that He is God and that He is in control of all the affairs of life.

When the storms come, they are designed to bring us to the place the disciples found themselves in at the end – on our knees in worship before Him. Don’t wait until the storm is over to bow before Him. Bow now while the waves are still threatening our boat. Bow now while the winds are still contrary to us. Don’t wait until blue skies are seen to humble ourselves before the Lord. Nothing reveals our faith in the Lord more than our willingness to accept His will and love Him, even when things look the worse for us. Bow before Him, it honor the Lord!

Sometimes, it is hard to see the blessings of the storm, isn’t it? Sometimes it is hard to imagine the Lord bringing any good out of what we are going through. If we need help from the wave walker, then this altar is open. Bring your need to Jesus and let Him have His way in your life. Will you do that right now?