Cry Out in a CrisisSample

We begin this plan with the incident of Jesus calming the storm when He was on a boat with the disciples on the Sea of Galilee. The passage we’re diving into (Mark 4:35-41) begins with the words, “On that day when the evening came…” Which day is the writer, Mark, referring to?

It was a busy day where Jesus had been preaching to large crowds. When we look earlier on in the chapter, we see that Jesus had been speaking to the disciples and the people gathered around Him about faith. And it was almost as if, in the evening, Jesus thought to Himself: It’s time for a real-life lesson.

The disciples had been listening to theory all day. They knew Jesus as their teacher. But did they trust Jesus as Lord? Did they truly believe what He had spoken to them about?

And so the practical lesson begins.

Jesus says to the disciples, “Let’s go over to the other side.”

Wait! What??! Didn’t Jesus know there was a storm brewing?

Of course, He did. He was fully man and fully God, and He knew what was coming.

Recently I read this statement by J.D. Greear: "Has it dawned on you that nothing dawns on God?"

God is all-knowing.

But in our frail human understanding, with our limited vision, we’re prone to thinking that we know best. We want to play advisors to the God of all creation, the God who designed the sun and the moon, the wind and the rain. And, sometimes, we foolishly question Him: But, God, have You downloaded the Google weather app? Have You asked Siri for an update? Don’t You know there are dark clouds up ahead?

But today, friends, God reminds us and assures us that He knows all about the storm. God is not surprised by the storm.

He is never at His wit’s end. He never wrings His hands in despair. He never wonders: Now what??

God doesn’t promise us a storm-free life. But, in Him, we are overcomers. In Him, we have peace in the midst of trials. In Him, we know our final destination. He will get us to the other side—safe to shore, whether that means the other side of the problem or be delivered into His arms for eternity.

Matthew 10: 31 says this: And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid.

So don’t be afraid.

Even if the storms take us by surprise, they never take God by surprise.

We can cry out to God in our crisis because He knows about the storm.