On a very dark night on a road from Jackson to Vicksburg, Mississippi, heavy rains washed a bridge out.  When Joe, a truck driver, saw the tail lights of the car ahead of him disappear, he knew something was wrong and slammed on his brakes.  Suddenly his own truck sailed silently through the black void where a bridge once stood, and crashed into the river below.  Miraculously, Joe made it out of his cab, swam to a small island in the river, and sat there in darkness, shouting at the oncoming cars, but too far away to be heard.  Car after car zoomed into the gap and crashed into the swirling waters below.  Sixteen people died that night.  Each of them had faith in a bridge that was no longer there.  And all Joe could do was sit there on his little island shouting and watching them die.

          Spiritually, there are millions of people today who have faith in a bridge that isn't there.  So many believe they will get to heaven all by themselves.  They think that by their good works, or by their character, or their morality, or their intelligence or their skills or by even their church membership, they will somehow cross the river of death into heaven.  But the bridge is out!  And too often the Joe Christians of the church just sit there, weakly shouting a message and thinking there isn't a thing more he can do.

          But there is!  We can get off our little island and reach out to those in darkness and give them hope.  We can show a better way to those groping their way through life.  Yes, we may stub our toes on the way, or get embarrassed when we don't say the right words.  But at least we're giving them a fighting chance.  We who know the Way must never forget the Light we have in Christ, who shows us the way and wants to bring His light into the darkness of the thousands who are perishing.  And we have the power of the Holy Spirit to do this.  And as St. Paul says, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."  (Philippians 4:13)

          One day a storm arose when Jesus was in a boat with His disciples.  It was one of those quick storms brought on by the heavy, moist air from the Mediterranean Sea, coming up a thousand feet over the Arbel Pass and quickly down to 400' below sea level on the Sea of Galilee.  It was early in His ministry and the disciples hadn't seen His power yet.

          The Bible says He requested they cross to the other side, to the Decapolis, that place of paganism and unbelief.  It's likely the disciples were reluctant to go.  They'd experienced storms and knew there might be trouble far from the familiarity of home.  Yet they followed the Lord's direction and it led them into a terrible storm.

          You and I would rather stay close to home and not go looking for storms if we can avoid it, but sometimes we can't.  Staying where it's safe may be easier, but there are times we must head into the storm anyway.  In the Christian life, the easiest way is not always the right way.  Jesus knew that.  If He had taken the easy way, we'd have no hope of heaven.  There's a saying, "If everything's going your way, maybe you're on the wrong road!"  That can be the truth!

          As they left, Jesus was tired and went to sleep in the back of the boat on the "pillow," the rolled up sail.  He must have been incredibly tired, because He slept through a storm.  The disciples woke Him up, not because they believed He could stop the wind, but to help them row and bail.  They had no idea of His power.  And yet when He awoke, instead of grabbing a bucket, He held up His hands and said, "Sssshhhh!  Be still!" and all became so very quiet.

          These fishermen had seen some amazing things, but never this.  It shocked them and scared them.  "Who is this?  Even the wind and the waves obey him!"  No matter how powerful a person is, no one can stop a coming storm.  No human being can calm the sea with a word or a wave of the hand.  Only God can do that, and only He can help us weather our personal storms.

          You and I have our own storms, don't we?  It may be a whirlwind of trouble at our job, or a tornado of sickness at home.  It could be a hailstorm of bad debts or a hurricane of conflict that threatens to dash our marriage on the rocks.  It may be a silent storm in our mind tearing at our soul, tossing us around, trying to drown us in our doubts.  Often we're blinded to the truth, and so we drive merrily along, not realizing the bridge is out, and fly headlong into the flood waters below.

          Satan stirs up storms anywhere he can and plays his wicked mind games with us.  He disturbs a good night's sleep with doubts about God.  He ruins marriages with pornography and selfish ambition.  He builds walls between Christians, and makes them argue about things that don't matter.  He distorts godly morality into a quest for personal freedom, and blinds us to our responsibility to each other.

          Satan sees us in our storm and tosses us a life preserver made of lead!  He promises pleasure and gives us only shame.  He hamstrings America with foolish court rulings and fills our universities with slaves to political correctness.  He lies about the truth and twists common sense into knots.  He promises us joy in our wealth and gives us only emptiness.  Satan cares nothing about people and would rather we spent eternity with him in perdition.  He's behind some of our storms, but we don't realize it.  We think all is well, and so we ignore warnings of the coming hurricane.

          There's an old fisherman's prayer, "Dear God be good to me.  The sea is so wide and my boat is so small."  Jesus knew a storm was coming and led His disciples into it.  Only when you and I are caught in a storm can He show us His power.  Only when we cry out to Him are we ready to accept His help.  He calmed their storm and gave them a great lesson.  "Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith?"

          Another reason for the storm is to show us our personal weakness and need for His power.  This isn't a story about storms -- it's all about trusting the One who can calm them.  Satan will always try to swamp us.  When we're sinking and crying out, only then can we trust the One who helps us weather every storm.

          There may be a storm coming to Epiphany.  We're on the verge of an important step that will help raid Satan's kingdom so he'll play games with us.  Weathering the storm of a building program may scare some of us, myself included.  There will be frustration with zoning requirements and doubts about our ability to take on a debt.

          There will be criticism from other Christians who think we're in the wrong place and members who will argue about the right plan.  In the coming months at Epiphany, there will be lots of wind, some flashes of lightning, and the threat of a tornado.  But our problems will look worse than they actually are.  Jesus is in our boat and often we'll need to hear Him say, "Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith?  I'm here - don't worry!"

          The disciples were sure the wind and waves would swamp them.  For a time they were sure the end was coming.  But Jesus calmed the winds, and He quieted waves, and He saved those frightened few fishermen.  And He will help us weather our storms and save us modern-day fishers of men.  He will pull us through.  We just have to stop being afraid of things that don't matter and trust Him.

          If the Lord can stop calm a storm on the Sea of Galilee, He can surely help us weather our personal storms.  He'll be there to warn us if the bridge out.  And if we fall into the sea, He'll jump in to save us.  Our Lord never really sleeps on the job.  He knows what we need, and when we cry out in faith and He'll save us.  And He will say, "Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith?

          That's the Gospel.  When we're drowning, He saves us.  When we're lost, He finds us.  When we sin, He forgives us.  When we're confused, He clears our minds.  When we're drowning in a sea of trouble, when the money is low and bills threaten to drown us, when our worries pile up high like waves to pull us under, cry out to Jesus.  Wake Him up with your prayers!  Pray to Him fervently, and then pray again.  He's there with us in the boat.  He won't let us perish.  He'll show us the solution.  That's His love for us.  That's the Gospel.

          "Dear God be good to me.  The sea is so wide and my boat is so small."  But do be careful.  Jesus came to be our Savior, not our last resort.  Instead of waiting till things get completely out of hand, let's keep in touch with Him constantly.  Worship Him regularly.  Pray your prayers often about anything.  Read what He has to tell us in His Good Book.  Love His people!  Pray constantly!  Then the storms won't seem as bad and the waves won't be as threatening.  Then He'll bring us through our struggles and even help us fly above the clouds, away from it all.

          "Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:28-21)  Dear God be good to us.  The sea is so wide and our boat is so small.  Amen!

Copyright © 2000 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.