Job 38:1-11; 2 Cor. 6:1-13; Mark 4:35-41
Storms
are inevitable. Some storms are fairly predictable, coming in a season during
which we expect them. Others come up suddenly and catch us by surprise. There
are storms that pass quickly and do little damage, but there are also storms
that linger and cause terrible destruction. Despite our great technology, we
have no way of controlling these storms. In fact, we can't even predict them
with accuracy. Even when we've prepared ourselves as best as we can, these
storms often devastate us. That's because these storms aren't tornados,
hurricanes, or other natural forces, they are the storms of life.
Although
we know that the storms of life are inevitable, they can be troubling to the
point of rocking our faith. In the confusing and confounding turbulence of
these storms, we may call God's love for us and His promises to us into
question. The Old Testament figure Job is often held up as an example for us
when we are in the midst of our own storms, but even Job struggled with his
circumstances and questioned God. Like us, Job did not give up on God or
abandon his faith in God because of the terrible storm in his life, but he did
falter as he flailed about trying to gain a foothold of understanding. He
couldn't make sense of things. It didn't seem right or fair. He was confused.
He wanted to know why things were as they were. So God answered Job in the
storm. In summary, God's answer to Job was simple and straightforward: "I
am God."
We may
not be satisfied with God's "who" answer to our "why"
questions, but it's the answer we're most likely to receive when we cry out in
the midst of our storms. When we can't make sense of things, they don't seem
right or fair, and we are confused, we ask God why things are they way that
they are. Like the disciples in their storm-tossed boat, we want to make sure
that God knows about our situation and that He cares about us. "Don't you
care if we perish?" was their ridiculous question that takes a thousand
different forms in the storms of our lives. God sizes up our little faith and
our big questions and meets us where we are. He answers in the storm, "I
am God." Though it isn't the answer we thought we that wanted, it is the
perfect answer to calm either the storms of our lives or to calm us in the
midst of those storms.
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