We have had some bad weather here in Mid-Missouri over the past two days. Crazy amounts of rain, pockets of hail, lots of lightning and high winds. Early Thursday morning I was awakened by flashes of light and claps of thunder as the storm seemed to be centered right over our little house. I woke up, wondering about tornadoes, hail, roof damage, and the possibility of any of our large trees falling into the house.
Here’s a screenshot of the radar during the storm (note the insanely early hour)…
As the storm raged outside my house and a separate storm of fear started to churn inside my mind, I thought of a familiar story that is found in the Gospel of Matthew about a similarly violent storm:
*Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. * Matthew 8:23-24
Jesus was asleep in the storm. His disciples start to freak out. They are very aware of the all the harm that could befall them there in the middle of the lake, so they wake Jesus. He responds by pointing out their lack of faith and excess of fear and then He speaks, He speaks, to the wind and the waves and it becomes completely calm.
The same Lord who slept through the storm and then demonstrated His complete sovereignty even over the elements is the same Lord who watches over me and is sovereign over all my storms. I find it reassuring, during those midnight storms of fear, to think that though Jesus in his human form required sleep, God the Father is described in Psalm 121 as our Helper who “neither slumbers or sleeps.” His care for me is not lessened by fatigue, nor is His power limited such that He cannot save in all situations. My Lord speaks and causes calamity to instantly transform to calm. He speaks and creates perfect peace out of chaos. Oh that I would have ears to hear His words, and not to drown in my own.