The Gospel of Mark tells the story of Jesus and His disciples out on a boat in the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35-39). Then came a storm. These seasoned fishermen were afraid, so it must have been more than just a little rain and waves. Jesus had fallen asleep, so they woke him up. He said, “Silence! Be still.” Then there was a great calm.
The first thing to note about the event is that it was Jesus idea to go out in the boat, and he invited the disciples along. Jesus, being the Son of God, knew what was about to happen when he invited them, so it wasn’t a surprise to him.
The next thing to note is that being with Jesus did not exempt the disciples from going through the storm, nor did being obedient to his command keep them out of danger. The storm came anyway.
Finally, when Jesus spoke, there was a great calm. He was in control of the storm all along, but he allowed it to follow its course until he was awakened by the disciples.
When God calls us to do something and we are obedient, it doesn’t exempt us from running into storms. To the contrary, quite often God calls into a storm on purpose. Sometimes it is a test of our faith, and sometimes it is because he wants to use us to help others who are also in the storm. Storms are a common occurrence in the world; they are not something we can always avoid, despite the advances in storm detection. They come to us all.
The thing to know about storms is that one of two things will happen to the child of God: He will take you through the storm to the other side, or He will disperse the storm with His almighty power. Either way, there will be a great calm because He will be with us. There will be peace in His Presence, no matter what the circumstances or the outcomes. Storms will come, but God is in control, so there is no need to fear. We just need to keep our eyes focused on Him and rest in His calming Presence.