Storms
The tradition of naming storms began in the United States in 1953. In the UK and Ireland, the Met Office and Met Éireann started naming storms in 2015. The first named storm in the UK was Abigail, which occurred on November 10, 2015.
‘As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”‘ -Mark 4:35-41
This story is also recounted in Matthew 8:23-27/ Luke 8:22-25
Jesus was a man, like us, yet he rebuked the wind and spoke to the waves. “Who is this man?” they asked. “When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!”
Have you ever spoken to the raging storm – either the literal storm or figurative storm taking place in your life? There are times when we need to ‘rebuke the wind’ and tell the waves, ‘Silence! Be still!’
Are you facing a storm right now?
Can you name the storm?
Tread the Waves
‘He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.’ -Job 9:8
This is Job describing what God does…
So when Jesus comes along, watch what He does – he also ‘treads the waves’!
The story of Jesus walking on water is recounted in Mark 6:45-51, John 6:16-24, Matthew 14:22-33
But curiously, in the Matthew account, it’s not only Jesus who walks on water, the disciple Peter does too!
‘But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. The ‘I AM’ is here”
Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on water”
“Yes, come,” Jesus said.
So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him, “You have so little faith,’ Jesus said. ‘Why did you doubt me?”‘
God walks on water, Jesus walks on water, Peter walks on water…what about you?
When you see the wind and waves – do you keep faith or do you doubt Jesus?
If we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus during the storm – we too will be able to tread the waves!
Surviving the Storm
Back on the 12th February 2014, I spent several days at a conference on Disciple Multiplication & Church Planting Movements where we learnt loads from movement practitioners around the world on what it’s going to take to see movements here in Europe. I went with a vision and heart for Britain and was eager to learn all I could, to see disciple and church multiplication movements take off across this land!
After our days together, I boarded the EasyJet plane from Athens to Manchester and hit the most turbulent storm I’ve ever been in whilst on any airplane! There was a lady sitting to my left who was drinking lots of whisky and generally anxious, muttering expletives under her breath, and a man sitting to my right by the window who said nothing from the beginning of the flight. However, around 4 hours into the flight…the man to my right needed to get up for the toilet…that’s how we began a conversation.
He asked me what I did for a living. I said, ‘I help start spiritual communities.’
He said, ‘that’s very interesting work…I am a believer…Orthodox…and my family are a very traditional religious family from the suburbs of Athens’
I said, ‘I’m neither Orthodox, Protestant or Catholic…I’m simply a disciple of Jesus that learns from Him and puts into practice what He says and did in the Bible whilst meeting with devoted innovative faith communities that meet all over the place who attempt to do the same.’
That began our conversation that lasted for the next 3-4 hours.
He was a person of peace called ‘Theos’
After meeting and connecting with him for just under an hour…that’s when we hit turbulence and went through the worst storm any of us had ever been in! The plane tried to land twice into Manchester and had to suddenly pull up and ascend twice because it was so turbulent and dangerous to land. There was hushed silence on the plane, you could cut the fear like butter…apart from gasps every time the plane suddenly plummeted or ascended or shook through the turbulence.
People were vomiting into paper bags and babies were screaming. Then the airport told the pilot it’s too dangerous for us to land into Manchester, so re-routed us to Birmingham. People on the plane were literally panicking for their lives that day…
The arrival of the storm coincided with what would have been Charles Darwin’s 205th birthday, earning the storm the name ‘Darwin’
When we finally arrived in Birmingham airport we had to wait around for our bags and for information of where to go…so Theos brought me a Costa coffee and gave me some of the spinach pie his mum had made. We reflected on our stormy experience and I got my bible out and gave it him to read Acts 27 about the apostle Paul. He said; ‘that’s what just happened to us and an angel came to you on the plane and said everyone will be safe because you have a work to do when you land in Britain’
He then said out of the blue… ‘I believe that wherever you go you can find people who are believers as God will draw them to you and that you can find people who will invite you into their homes, to feed and clothe you and invite you to stay with them.’
Theos then gave me an ‘icon’ image of Jesus…I told him that I was going to buy one of those at Athens airport. He replied, ‘That’s a sign to me as I have just sensed to give me this gift.’ He then showed me his pocket book of prayers for different times of the day that he keeps next to his heart.
He said, ‘the moment we landed after the turbulence…makes you realise what life is really all about…’
It certainly does friends…let’s work while it’s still ‘day’
‘Theos’ means ‘gift of God’ and ‘boldest’
Life is a gift
We must be bold; very strong and courageous to take the land!
Are you in a storm?
Are you treading water?
Do you trust God to bring you through?
