There's Purpose in Your Storm

Today I preached on the following passage: 

Matthew 8:23-27, Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!” NLT 

One of the many things we can take from this passage is this: There is purpose in your storm. Matthew 8:18 reveals that it was Jesus himself who gave the orders to cross the lake. He led the disciples into this seemingly perilous storm intentionally and purposefully. So what was the purpose? It was two-fold...

1. To teach them 

Every storm teaches us something. Through this storm the disciples learned to trust. In the Old Testament, a fellow named Jonah experienced a storm of his own that taught him to obey. Also in the Old Testament was a man named Job who went through a non-aquatic storm. He lost his health and wealth (not to mention his kids). Through this storm he learned that we will not always have an answer to the question "Why?" on this side of eternity. I could keep going, but I think you get the point. Whether God brings about the storm himself or simply allows the storm to occur, there is purpose in the storm and every storm teaches us something. 

2. To test them 

The storms we experience not only teach us something, they also test our faith. I believe Jesus stayed asleep during the storm so he could test the disciples faith. This was an opportunity to respond fear-full or faith-filled. And unfortunately, the disciples failed this test miserably. They cried out to Jesus in fear, saying "We're going to drown!" Did you know that Jesus measures our spiritual maturity in part by how we respond when we're in a storm? When we respond in fear we show our lack of faith. When we respond in faith, we show God that we trust him, which pleases God very much (Hebrews 11:6). 

Have you ever felt like Jesus was asleep during your storm? It might seem that way, but nothing could be further from the truth. He is trying to teach you something and he is testing your faith. 

This Will Not End in Death

In John 11 a man named Lazarus is on his death bed in a town called Bethany. Jesus is 20 miles east near the Jordan River when he gets word from Mary and Martha (Lazarus' sisters). Listen to Jesus' response after hearing the devastating news...

"When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” (John 11:4, NIV).

It's easy to read this real quick and skip over it and miss it's significance. This is a truly amazing response! How would YOU respond if you got news that:

• Your best friend was about to die 
• A family member was in a car crash that might prove to be fatal 
• The diagnosis is cancer and it could be terminal

Most people would respond:

• In fear - that the bad thing will happen 
• In anger - that something bad happened in the first place and might get worse 
• In doubt - that anything will change/get better 

But not Jesus! Jesus responds in faith, not fear; in anticipation of God's intervention, not in anger; and in definite trust that God would move, not in doubt. His first response was to speak something faith-filled and positive. I love that! May God grant me the ability to be more like Jesus in this area of my life. Instead of assuming the worst until something good happens, why not assume something good until something bad happens. This would definitely be the wiser approach as research shows the vast majority of things we worry about actually don't happen.

When faced with opportunities or obstacles, may God help us to respond with faith and not fear! May we say with confidence "This will not end bad. No, it is for God's glory so Jesus may be glorified through it." 

The Evidence of our Faith

A few weeks ago Andrew and I attended Minister's Retreat in Cape Cod, and one of guest speakers, Mark Batterson (founder and lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington DC), shared the story of how he was trusting God to provide a drummer when his church first started, some sixteen years ago now. After praying about God providing a drummer, Mark sensed God pointing out to him that the church didn't even own a drum set. Mark reasoned "God, I'll buy a drum set as soon as You provide a drummer." But Mark felt God challenging him, "Mark, you buy a drum set and I'll provide a drummer." Long story short, Mark stepped out in faith and bought a drum set without any ideas regarding who might play them. The first Sunday they had the set, a drummer showed up and inquired about playing the drums. Turns out, he was in a military band and had played for the President of the United States. Mark joked that any drummer that has played for the President automatically qualifies to play for his church!

Shortly after the retreat where Mark spoke, I was told that of all the people that signed up during our recent ministry fair, no one signed up to serve in our audio/visual/lighting department. After hearing Mark's story, my first thought was "Of course no one signed up. We don't even have a chair for them to sit in!" So during staff meeting last week I told my team that if we were believing God to provide people to join our audio/visual/lighting department, we needed to show our faith by purchasing a chair, much like Mark showed his faith by purchasing drums. So Andrew bought an extra stool to put behind the computer table (for the new person we were believing God for). The chair was assembled and put out during set up, even though we had no one to sit in it yet.

No joke - This past Sunday someone walked up to me and said "I have a degree in sound and lighting and would like to start volunteering." I was absolutely blown away! And just today during a meeting I had someone else share with me that her husband is very good with computers and was looking for somewhere in the church to get involved!

What's my point in sharing all this? God responds to faith! Hebrews 11:1 says "Now faith is being sure of what we hope and certain of what we do not see." If we are believing God for something, there needs to be evidence of our faith. When my wife was believing God to provide a way to go to Valley Forge Christian College, even though this appeared to be a financial impossibility, she went out and bought towels (a small token of her faith that God would provide a way). God did provide a way, and within weeks she was enrolled and living on campus!

Is there anything in your life you are currently trusting God for? Is God witnessing any evidence of your faith? And if not, what does faith look like in your situation? How can you step out and show your faith in God? I believe with all my heart that if you're believing for something that honors God, and you'll step out in faith, you'll see the miraculous provision of God in your life!

Believe for More

In 2006 Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder of Facebook, turned down an opportunity to sell Facebook to Yahoo for one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000). Against the advice of many people, Mark said no. He was believing for more. He believed Facebook could be bigger than a billion dollars. And he was right! Estimates are that if there were an initial public stock offering today, Facebook would be valued between 35 and 50 billion dollars.

I want to dream BIG when it comes to the things of God. Specifically, when it comes to pointing irreligious people to Jesus. When others have "a billion" mentality, I want to think fifty billion. When others think we've reach the goal, I want to see so much more in the future. I pray God helps me and New Day to have more faith and dream bigger than ever before.

Missing Out

Yesterday at Costco Kristin bought some Pop Tarts for the kids. I happen to know that Pop Tarts are delicious when they're toasted, but when I went to toast Ally's Pop Tart she said she wanted it not toasted. I said "Ally, these are really good toasted." But she said "no". I said "Ally, you've never had them toasted. How do you know you won't like it?" She still said "no". So I bent over and said "Ally, I'm your dad and I love you. I only want good things for you. I've had Pop Tarts toasted and they are delicious. I really think you'll like it if you give it a try." Guess what she said? Still a "no".

This got me thinking. How many good things do we miss out on when we say "no" to God? We say "no" because we don't trust God. Ally has every reason to trust me but for some reason she didn't. And in the same way, we have every reason to trust God but for some reason at times we don't. And what happens when we don't trust God? WE MISS OUT!

I personally want to get to the place where if God says "do it" I trust him enough to obey. My challenge will be to realize the truth: that God's way is always better than our way, just as a toasted pop tart (in my opinion) is always better than a non-toasted pop tart.

Know that even if you've been saying "no" to God for quite some time, it's never to late to start saying "yes." As I was writing this blog Ally came over to me with a change of heart. I stopped writing, toasted her pop tart, gave it to her and then heard her say "Mmmm, this is good Daddy."

I think everyone who says "yes" to God has a similar experience. All I can say is "Try it!"