On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.”  36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Mark 4:35-40 NKJV

On the way to the “other side”, or going to the next level in life, you may encounter an unexpected storm. Having Jesus in your life doesn’t exempt you from storms whether you do the right thing or the wrong, whether you make the right decision or wrong. In Matthew 5:45 Jesus said, “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and He sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Jesus’ disciples were in obedience crossing over to the other side yet they encountered a violent storm. 

A storm is a disturbance of the atmosphere, i.e. strong wind, rain, snow or hail, lightening, thunder, dust, etc. While Jesus and His disciples were crossing over the Sea of Galilee to the other side, unexpected storms could occur on the Sea of Galilee which is situated 680 feet below sea level surrounded by hills and mountains. The winds blowing across the land could intensify causing violent and unexpected storms when contacting the warm air coming off the sea. This condition was characteristic of that local area in Galilee. Now that’s why I say: that which can cause a storm is inside of you—the thing that drives and motivates you. i.e., love, faith, fear, etc.  This was a physical storm in the above text; however, storms come in many forms, e.g., physical, emotional, and psychological. Any difficulty that causes a great deal of anxiety in your life may be considered a storm.

Why do storms come? If the Lord can stop the storm, why didn’t He prevent it? Storms are the will of God—not that He sends them—He allows them. Why? Looking at what happened to Jesus’ disciples and how they reacted to the storm, perhaps God allows storms to (1) expose how you really feel about Him; (2) to reveal your truth so that you can’t lie to yourself any longer; and, (3) so you can deal with your negative feelings and emotions (Mark 4:37-38).                                                           

An unexpected storm can cause fear. But remember fear is always based on a lie; it is an acronym that stands for: false evidence appearing real or future evidence appearing real. Jesus’ disciples panicked and accused Him of not caring because of the false evidence of imminent destruction. Nothing was further from the truth. Jesus was still with them. God loves you, He cares, and He is with you. So, remember when you are faced with a storm, you have at least two options: panic with fear and worry that Jesus doesn’t care or resist fear and put your trust in him.