When The Storms Come

Introduction

Mark 4:35-41

In 1969, in Pass Christian, Mississippi, a group of people were preparing to have a “hurricane party.” In the face of a storm named Camille Police chief Jerry Peralta pulled up after dark at the posh Richelieu Apartments. Facing the beach less than 250 feet from the surf, the apartments were directly in the line of danger.

A man with a drink in his hand came out to the second-floor balcony and waved at the police chief. Peralta yelled up, “You all need to clear out of here as quickly as you can. The storm’s getting worse.” But as other party participants joined the man on the balcony, they just laughed at Peralta’s order to leave. “This is my land,” one of them yelled back. “If you want me off, you’ll have to arrest me.”

Peralta didn’t arrest anyone, but he wasn’t able to persuade them to leave either. He wrote the names of the next of kin of the twenty people who gathered there to party through the storm. They laughed as he took their names. The Police chief warned them, but they had no intention of leaving.

It was 10:15 p.m. when the front wall of the storm came ashore. Scientists clocked Camille’s wind speed at over 205 miles-per-hour, the strongest on record and much, much stronger than Hurricane Katrina that did so much destruction to the Gulf Coast last summer. Raindrops hit with the force of bullets, and waves off the Gulf Coast crested between twenty-two and twenty-eight feet high.

News reports later showed that the worst damage came at the little settlement of motels, go-go bars, and gambling houses known as Pass Christian, where approximately twenty people died at a hurricane party in the Richelieu Apartments.  The three-story structure was destroyed except for the foundation.   Of the two-dozen people in the building, only one survived.  As Christians, we need to keep the following in mind:

i. Storms come

Sometimes they come suddenly and violently. Sometimes they tear your world apart.

Jesus and his disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee. Suddenly a furious squall came up, and the waves broke over their boat, nearly swamping it. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down, and it was calm. Jesus said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were now more terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Storms come. They may not come in the form of a sudden, furious squall, or a hurricane, but they come.  Sometimes they come in the form of a phone call from a doctor confirming a diagnosis, or a visit from a police officer telling you of an automobile accident. Storms come in many forms—a note from a spouse saying she’s leaving, a pink slip from an employer, or an unexpected diagnosis. The governor or your state issues a “stay at home” order because of covid-19. Storms come. Just as they came to those disciples on the Sea of Galilee they come into our lives.

ii. We often wonder if God is asleep

Here’s what’s frustrating: Sometimes when storms come, it seems as if God is asleep. “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” asked his terrified disciples. And sometimes when we are going through a crisis, we often feel that either God doesn’t hear or doesn’t care.

I read of a Romanian man sued God for allegedly fouling up his life. The suit states that the man was  promised a good life in return for “various goods and prayers,” and that the 20-year sentence he’s serving in a Romanian jail represents a clear breach of contract.

That’s absurd, but have you ever felt like suing God? Be honest now. Sometimes terrifying storms come up in our lives and we turn to God and all we find is an awful silence. And we cry out with those disciples of old, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

In our text for today, Christ stirs from his slumber. He rebukes the wind and speaks to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” When the wind dies down and is calm, he turns to his disciples and asks, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

This I believe is the crux of the lesson. We know that storms come. We believe that Christ has the power to calm the storms.

iii. Why are we afraid to trust God’s promises?

Christ knew that his disciples were human beings, given to fear. He knew that they were still growing in their faith. Let me make some brief suggestions about how we can cope with life during life’s storms.

I. Prepare for Them

First, prepare for them. That makes sense, doesn’t it? If we know storms will come, don’t you think we ought to prepare for them?

A. He could have made sure his relationships were strong

His family relationships, his relationships with his friends needed to be strong. It helps when you are going through a storm to have others there with you. You may not be blessed with a family, but you can build your relationships here in the church so you will have people who will serve as your support group. Ask someone who has gone through the storm of an illness or losing a loved one whether close relationships made a difference. They do.

B. He could have also prepared himself for the storm physically, mentally, spiritually

For example, does your general health make a difference in a storm? How well you’ve taken care of yourself can make a significant difference when you catastrophic illness strikes. We don’t talk about this much at church, but maybe we ought to. A person undergoing surgery or chemotherapy or radiation will generally do better if his or her overall health is good. Being in good physical condition is also a good way to deal with the depression that inevitably comes with a terrible loss. Prepare for life’s storms by keeping yourself fit. Don’t wait until the storm comes.

A TV news camera crew was on assignment in southern Florida filming the widespread destruction from Hurricane Andrew. In one scene, amid the devastation and debris, stood one house on its foundation. The owner was cleaning up the yard when a reporter approached him. “Sir, why is your house the only one in the entire neighborhood that is standing?” asked the reporter. “How did you escape the severe damage of the hurricane?”

“I built this house myself,” the man replied. “I also built it according to the Florida state building code. When the code called for two-by-six roof trusses, I used two-by-six roof trusses. I was told that a house built according to code could withstand a hurricane. I did, and it did. I suppose no one else around here followed the code.”

That man was prepared. But suppose that storm had been cancer or losing a child or some great tragedy, how could he have prepared? There are many ways.

Mentally and spiritually, we prepare ourselves by building our lives on the Rock. There comes a time in our lives when we decide what we believe and how we will live. “I will live according to God’s building code,” we decide. “I will live a life of quality, trusting God’s promises.” Not that we cease being human. We still may go through all the steps associated with grief and loss.  They include denial, anger, rejection, guilt, bargaining, depression/confusion, and acceptance. But we go through the process without being overwhelmed.

II. Remember How God Has Guided Us

And then, eventually, when the storm has run its course, as all storms do, we see how God has guided us through. We had despaired that we could make it, but we make it and we give God the glory.

Robert A. Schuller tells about a farmer in Washington who was especially proud of the apples he produced every year, and with good reason. His farm was at a high elevation, and the chilly winds that came through there made his apples especially crisp and flavorful. Every year, after he harvested his crop, he would polish those apples until they virtually shone. Then he would put them into beautiful packages to show them off. These weren’t your ordinary run-of-the-mill apples, but the kind that made beautiful gifts to send loved ones for Thanksgiving and Christmas. As word of his marvelous apples spread, customers inundated him with orders even before he had harvested the fruit.

One year, just before harvest time, a severe hailstorm pummeled his property. When it was all over, there wasn’t a single apple without blemishes on its skin. There was nothing wrong with the apples. They just didn’t look as pretty as they usually did, and the farmer was afraid that it might disappoint the people who had ordered them and they might ask for their money back.

Then he had an idea. He took all the apples with the little blemishes on the outside and wrapped every one of them the same way he did every year. He put them in the same kind of packages. Then he added a note. It read: “Notice these high-quality apples. This year represents the finest crop. You can see the blemishes caused by the hailstorm which created the extreme cold giving the ultimate flavor and ultimate crispness to these apples.”

Well, customers did not return a single order. In fact, just the opposite happened. The following year when his orders started coming in, he had many requests from people who wanted to make sure they got the apples with the blemishes this year, too!

That’s the way it works for people of faith. We don’t escape the blemishes. We wear them proudly, for we could not be who we are today without the growth that those blemishes brought with them.

Conclusion

Storms come. Some of you are young. It seems like you will live forever. That’s wonderful, but if you are smart, you will prepare yourself for that time when life sends us into the unexpected squall. Prepare yourself by building strong relationships. Prepare yourself by keeping yourself fit physically, mentally and spiritually. Build your life on the rock of faith.