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 4:35-36 NLT
Often when we experience the storms of life they can come both quickly and unexpectedly, but sometimes they can be seen far off in the distance as the sky turns dark and the temperature drops with the coming storm. Whether this is physically or non-physically speaking these storms can be physically dangerous like the disciples we find ourselves in a boat at sea when the wind and waves roar and begin to crash into the boat. Or non-physically being spiritually, mentally, or emotionally dangerous if that be a battle in our hearts and minds when family relationships are tense or spiritually searching for purpose in life while feeling lost.
Perhaps many of us have been through different types of storms in the past few years alone whether that be losing a job, a close friend or family member becoming infected with Covid-19, becoming depressed with all the social distancing rules, a loved one passing away, fighting a illness in the hospital, helping a son or daughter through difficult times in college, or making one bad decision that affects you for the rest of your life. The storms of life can come in many different forms, shapes and sizes whether they are unexpected or expected just being a matter of time before the storm arrives.
As some of you may know that we (Mikaela and I) have recently been through one of these storms of life and in this blog I want to share my reflections/testimony on this storm thus far. To briefly summarize what happened, Mikaela became sick for a week, then was fine for about 5 days, when she became sick again that led to having to call an ambulance to come and take her to the hospital. She was in the hospital for five days and because of Corona times the hospital does not allow visitors into the hospital as this left me at home to weather the storm apart from one another.
The diagnosis was a Urinary Tract Infection which led to a Kidney Infection which led to Urosepsis, which is sepsis (blood poisoning) that originates from the urinary tract that requires immediate medical care as it can be deadly. Needless to say emotions were high when the ambulance arrived and medical personnel were examining Mikaela as she laid on the couch speaking few words with a fever over 104 degrees Fahrenheit. A quick goodbye as they loaded her into the ambulance and standing outside our home feeling so gutted as her husband that there was nothing I could do at this point as they drove away. Not able to be by her side at the hospital was difficult after doing all I could at home for almost two weeks to improve her health in talking with nurses, giving prescribed medication, cooking meals, and being her personal nurse at home.
It is never easy to watch a loved one go through a sickness or illness and feeling powerless to help them through the pain. Thankfully I can say that God was my strength through this difficult time in seeking Him in prayer in asking healing for Mikaela in the name of Jesus as well as seeking His wisdom and guidance throughout the situation. Was it easy? Of course not, but without God’s strength and encouragement it would have made the situation all the more difficult. It was an unexpected storm in life and in God I placed my trust and hope in Him.
Now as I write this, it has been a week since Mikaela has been out of the hospital and improving at home each day and I would say she is just about fully recovered now praise Jesus! It is amazing how significant and important prayer is as hundreds of people lifted her up in prayer around the world and personally I am ever so thankful and speechless of this truth. The wind and waves are becoming calm now once again in thankfulness to God and believers around the world lifting her up in prayer.
With this being said, I want to transition more into how God gave me peace and courage through the passage of Mark I shared at the beginning of this blog and also through a worship song. Several days had passed while Mikaela was in the hospital and on a Saturday I decided it would be good for me to just sit down and be still in taking time pray and listen to God in spending time with him. During that time in prayer God reminded me of the story of the disciples fearing for their lives in the midst of a storm in the Sea of Galilee while Jesus peacefully slept on the boat in Mark 4:35-41.
With my eyes closed it was then I saw myself in the boat alone with Jesus with the wind and waves roaring crashing into the boat and Jesus was not one bit concerned or worried as the peace he had was visible to me. Then I found myself sitting beside Jesus in the back of the boat and in the chaos of the storm as I was soak and wet from the waves crashing into the boat and the loud sound of the wind and waves made it hard to hear anything. Jesus then turned to look at me and softly said, “Do you trust me?” which I could hear so clearly despite the loud noise of the wind and waves. I responded, “Yes, I trust you.” It was then he took my hand and held it as I felt a peace wash over me. That was the moment I knew everything was going to be okay and soon the storm would be over and Mikaela would be back at home to her usual self.
It is amazing how God answers prayer when we seek him, but also when we listen to what he may to want to show or speak to us. The next day was Sunday morning and I still led our House Church (Small Group) Sunday gathering in worship and teaching from Mark 4:35-41 as presently we are not able to meet at the church building due to Norway’s infection control measures limiting gatherings. During our time in worship and teaching in our apartment there was a strong presence of God’s Spirit with us as all of us were greatly encouraged and strengthened from our time together.
One of the songs we sang was, “It is Well” the contemporary version by Bethel Music. Before everyone arrived I was preparing the songs and rehearsing them and the following line in the song struck me in a new light.
So let go my soul and trust in Him
The waves and wind still know His name
Once those words rung out into our living room it was then I realized that these lyrics connect with Mark 4:35-41 where Jesus, “rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Silence! Be still!’ Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.”
The “waves and wind” are not a one time experience that only the disciples faced, but also we as Christian experience the “waves and wind.” The storms of life as it were. That no matter what storm we are facing or experiencing in life, the storm knows God’s name. Sepsis knows His name, cancer knows His name, divorce knows His name, depression knows His name, the loss of a loved one knows His name, Covid-19 knows His name, and so forth. These things know His name and God is in complete control even if the storm doesn’t make sense to us and we don’t understand the point or purpose of the storm we are going through.
When we as Christians face storms in our lives, like the disciples we also find ourselves in the boat with Jesus. There are a few decisions one could make; (1) like the disciples we can be terrified and shout, “Jesus, don’t you care that I am going to drown?!” (2) we can decide to jump out of the boat and try things out on our own meaning and we do not trust in Jesus to resolve the situation in calming the storm in our life, or (3) we can quietly sit down next to Jesus in the boat, take His hand and firmly say, “I trust in you” while the chaos of the storm is still happening as the wind and waves roar.
My experience with Mikaela’s sickness was choosing this 3rd option as that Saturday in taking time in prayer in listening to God as he guided me to Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4 that brought me so much peace in a time of difficulty and need.
Having said all of this, I wanted to share this testimony with you in hopes that it encourages you. Someone told me in the midst of the storm, “You will have a testimony when you come out of this time” and God reminded me that Saturday that I am to share my testimony and experience of going through this with others.
If you are reading this and currently are in the midst of a storm I want you to know that God sees you and knows the pain going on in your life at this very moment. He is in control even if the storm doesn’t make sense to you as you find yourself in the boat as the wind and waves crash into the boat as you hang on for dear life. My prayer is that you would go to the back of the boat and find Jesus sitting there waiting for you to come sit next to him so that he may ask you, “Do you trust me?” and that he can take your hand and peace would wash over in you in the name of Jesus. Blessings
God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!
Psalm 46:1-3 NLT