What do you do when the storms of life come? Storms will always happen. It is a part of living in our fallen world. Often people try to either blame God or the devil for life’s difficult times. God does not send trials and tribulations into our lives to judge or chasten us; the devil isn’t strong enough to bring this kind of terror into our worlds; thus, the roots of the storms in life are either the result of the fallen nature of earth or our own personal choices. We lived in a perfect world; we introduced sin into that world; and now we live in a world that suffers under the curse of sin. From this fallen state come storms that shake our world and knock us off track. When this happens, what will you do?

We can often believe that life will be smooth sailing all the time simply because we are currently sailing smoothly. To believe that nothing bad will ever happen is to live in a constant state of delusion. Real faith allows us to understand that bad things are going to happen and be ready for them when they come. Storms arise out of pressure in life. We can often believe that Jesus is not with us in these times. He is there; He’s just sleeping. He is calm. The situation is not making Him panic. He knew it was coming, He knows what is happening, and He knows what will happen. Will we trust Him to see us through? Or will we trust the storms around us to tell us how it will be?

In Luke 8, the disciples are so afraid of this storm that they wake Jesus up. In the account in Matthew, they wake Him up by saying “Teacher! Teacher!†In Mark, they say, “Lord! Lord!†In Luke, they say, “Master! Master!†(Greek word used is “Master and Commander.â€) All three accounts are right. In the midst of chaos and utter fear, who is Jesus to you: Teacher, Lord, or Commander? He can be all three. As Teacher, we allow Him to instruct us through the storms—What happened? How did it happen? How can I grow so this doesn’t happen again? As Commander, He is the one who is in control and will see us through the crisis. As Lord, we submit to Him regardless of whether we make it to the other side or not.

Jesus is the God of the storms. If we allow Him, He will calm them. He will guide us through. He will teach us. He does all of these things so we can help others who are going through similar circumstances. Life in the Kingdom is not about just you or just me; it is about all of us moving together toward where Jesus is directing us to go. Storms will rise; things will get hard; but as we submit to Him, we will see the other side.