H. Michael Brewer
Crescent Springs Presbyterian Church
25 June 2006
SHELTER IN THE STORMY BLAST
Mark 4:35-41
The storm sweeps over the little boat without warning. The disciples are experienced sailors, but they
can’t outrun this one. Terrified of sinking, they cry out to Jesus, who calms the storm and saves them in the
hour of peril. Now that’s a story that will preach. Call on Jesus when the storm breaks and he’ll make it go
away. What a great spiritual equation! Trouble + Prayer = Rescue. It’s elegant. It’s comforting. And,
unfortunately, it’s way too simple.
The Bible itself contradicts any such easy answer to suffering and trial. Faithful Abel is struck down
because he has a good relationship with God. Hosea's marriage falls apart. John the Baptist gets beheaded
for his preaching. Stephen is stoned to death for confessing Jesus Christ as Lord. The apostle Paul prays
earnestly to be set free from some physical ailment, but he never gets well. And lest we overlook it, Jesus
himself is crucified for doing God's will, and this is after a night of desperate, anguished prayer pleading to be
spared from the cross.
When you look at the Bible as a whole, two ideas emerge very clearly. First, God does indeed promise
to help us and God's promise is as solid as bedrock. But the second thing we discover in the Bible is that
God's help takes many forms, and even God's providence is no warranty against hardship.
Let me make some suggestions that might bring together in a healthy way both our Christian faith and
our human experience. These are suggestions about things to do and to think about when you're battling
storms.
The first suggestion is, when you want help from God, ask for help from God. Ask boldly for what you
want from God while leaving room for God to answer that prayer in the way that God knows is best. Will you
get everything you ask for? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean you should stop asking. Jesus told the story of
a widow who went day after day to a corrupt judge seeking justice. Finally the judge gave her what she wanted
just to shut her up. The moral? Be as persistent, determined and committed in appealing to God as the
widow was in pestering the judge.
An Australian philosopher named Paul Davies received the prestigious Templeton Prize for progress in
religion about ten years ago. He has written a lot on the subject of reconciling science and religion. To my
thinking he has some good ideas. But he also says that if the Christian faith is to be credible to modern
people, we have got to get over the notion of an “interventionist God” who hears, cares, and acts for our good.
Such a God, says Professor Davies, is an offense to reason, a rebel against the laws of nature, and a
stumbling block to modern people. To which I respectfully reply, Get over it, Professor Davies. We Christians
have always pinned our hopes on a God who wades into the mud with us, gets the divine hands dirty, and
regularly butts into human affairs. That’s the God of the Bible, and yes, without embarrassment that’s the God
I believe in.
The Letter of James gives a word of blunt advice on the matter of prayer. Says James, “You do not have,
because you do not ask.” (James 4:2 NRSV) You know what’s worse than not getting what you asked for? Not
getting something because you never bothered to ask.
Second suggestion: Remember that not everything you want is good for you or good for others. Follow
up on just about any big lottery winners and see what becomes of them after their dreams come true. Usually,
it’s not pretty.
Notice that Jesus answers immediately when the disciples cry for rescue from the storm. Notice also
that a few weeks later, Jesus utterly rejects the request of two of those same disciples who suggest that it
would be grand idea to call down fire from heaven to destroy a village that has refused them hospitality. (See
Luke 9:51-56)
Let’s hear the second half of that advice from James. “You do not have, because you do not ask. You
ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.” (James
4:2-3 NRSV) God is not concerned with pampering us, babying us, or worse yet catering to selfish, hurtful
desires. At least occasionally, you and I should probably say thank you to God for not giving us everything we
ask for.
Third suggestion: When things go wrong in your life, don't forget the things that are going right. If God
doesn't seem responsive in one part of your life, don't overlook all the other areas in which God has been
abundantly gracious and good. Point of view makes all the difference in how we see our problems and how
we feel about life. Somebody has said, “When the thumb hurts, the whole body becomes a thumb,” meaning
that we tend to forget about all the healthy parts of our body and concentrate only on the part that hurts.
Sometimes we do that with our lives, but faith calls for a larger view, a wider perspective. If you've done some
flying, you might be able to testify that a storm looks altogether different when you rise above it.
Fourth suggestion: Watch for opportunities to grow. Hardships, disappointments, and losses are often
the stepping stones to growth, insight and strength. There are qualities of wisdom, maturity and compassion
that can be acquired only through struggle and grief. In your own life which has taught you more: your victories
or your defeats? Your easy times or your hard times?
The very things we pray to avoid often turn out to be the hammer blows that sculpt us into people of
worth. When astronauts are in space too long their health is endangered. Without the constant, daily struggle
against gravity, space travelers become soft, they lose strength, their muscles shrink, and even their hearts
weaken.
The trials we deplore may be the very thing we need. Young David said to himself, “All right! There’s lion
stalking my flock tonight. I get to go out in the dark with a slingshot and drive off a three hundred pound killing
machine. What fun!” Nobody wants to fight lions and bears with a stick and a rock. I can’t believe David asked
for that or enjoyed it, yet it was those dark, risky, scary nights that prepared David to defeat a giant.
Fifth suggestion: Even when you lose the battle, count on winning the war. If God's promises do not
always seem to come true for you in the living of your daily life, remember that there is no expiration date on
God's grace. God has all eternity in which to bless and preserve us. In other words, this life is not the whole
show, and the grave does not ring down the curtain on the final act. Let the world do its worst, in the end God
will heal our suffering, God will dry our tears, God will make us whole.
Sixth suggestion: Have faith in God, and have faith in yourself. Maybe the help you want from God is
already built into you. When God knitted you together in the womb, God knew what you would face in life, God
knew what you would need, and God made you accordingly. Don't sell yourself short. If you don't always get
bailed out of trouble the way you might like, perhaps that is a sign of God's respect for your abilities.
Of course, we don't always live up to our potential. We don't always claim our gifts or develop our
talents. God knows that, too, so God doesn't leave us on our own. Thus my final suggestion: When the storm
is about to sink your boat, remember you're not alone.
The story is told of a missionary to China some years ago who was preaching in English to a gathering
of Chinese. Using the King James Bible, the minister read the promise of Jesus from Matthew's gospel, “Lo, I
am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” In the audience there was man named Lo who
misunderstood, and thought that Jesus was talking to him personally. “Lo, I am with you always.”
Or maybe he didn't misunderstand at all. It is a personal promise, isn't it? “Mike, I am with you always,
even if the world comes to an end.” Even in a sinking boat, what more help could you want than to have Christ
at your side? Even in the thunder and lightning, what more help could you need than to have God with you?
What more help could you ever ask for?
Soli Deo Gloria!