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?”  39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”  41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”  Mark 4:37-41 NKJV

You will always find the shelter of grace and mercy in your storm if you forsake your negative feelings about God when the storm exposes how you really feel about God, and confront the lies you’ve told to yourself when the storm now reveals that “your truth” was not the truth, and you have to deal with your negative feelings and emotions, and overcome your fear with an unswerving love for God by standing on the Word of God.

What do you do when storms come? If the storm is expected, obviously, you prepare for it. But if the storm is unexpected, whatever you do—don’t panic in fear like Jesus’ disciples while in the boat with Him as they sailed across the Sea of Galilee. Fear is the reverse gear of faith. You just can’t drive forward cross over to the other side or go to the next level in your life’s situation operating in fear. The same way that faith comes by hearing God’s Word and you live by that Word, fear also comes by hearing the Devil’s words and dying by his words of defeat and disaster ( Rom. 10:17; Matt. 4:4). Fear will always break your hedge of protection in the storm (Eccl. 10:8; Job 1:4-5, 9-10; 3:25-26). Jesus, although asleep on the stern of the boat, during this violent storm in the text above, he was still in the boat and proved to be the disciples’ hedge of protection (Mark 4:39, 40). The disciples needed to only to awake Him.

To awake the Lord is to stir up His power within you through: prayer, worship, thanksgiving, and the voice of praise (see Jonah 2:1-3, 7-10).  Like Jesus’ disciples, we panic in storms because we’re trying to do something on our own, or we just underestimate the power of God which they certainly did (v.38-41).  It is natural to have some level of apprehension in the face of uncertain change and danger, but fear and unbelief will derail you from “crossing over to the other side”, dash your hopes and dreams, and stall or stop your vision. So, when storms come, pray and awake the Lord—this is your turning point in the storm.  You don’t have to deal with your fears alone. God is with you!