18 Apr It’s Hard To Find God In The Midst Of Chaos

Do you know what a “Tempest” is? For those who never heard of it, it’s likely because it’s a word that has now gone extinct. No one really uses it anymore. It is a word that has been put to rest in today’s culture.  And those who have heard of it, if you ask them what it is, you will most likely get that it’s a storm of some sort. A really bad storm. I’ve been in a really bad storm a time or two, but that doesn’t accurately describe a Tempest.

A Tempest is more than a storm that blows the hat off your head or turns your umbrella inside out. A Tempest has the potential to destroy miles and miles of city blocks. We give them all kinds of names. The worst one we ever had here in the States was in 2005. We named it Katrina.

More than 1800 people lost their lives, millions of people were left homeless, and over 1.25 billion dollars of property damage was recorded. It was the worst. The suffering was enormous. The Insurance Companies were overwhelmed, and sadly thousands of people who had flood insurance, never saw a dime.

That is chaos. That is a Tempest. To just describe it as a “storm” is a gross misrepresentation. We see in the Bible in the book of Matthew, that in the middle of a Tempest, Jesus is sleeping soundly at the bottom of a boat. The Apostles are running around frantically like headless chickens. In pure panic. And rightfully so.

Matthew ch. 8 verse 24 describes it. The King James Bible says it was a “Great Tempest”. The new translation calls it a violent storm or a fierce storm. Today we would call it a Hurricane. The book of Matthew reads that the boat was engulfed by the waves. Not only was the boat surrounded on all sides by the sea, but the waves of the sea engulfed the boat.

Meaning the water from the sea was overtaken it. Tossing it to and fro and running over top of it. In the midst of a Hurricane, in the midst of chaos, God was soundly sleeping. And yet, in his sleep, he was still cognizant. What do I mean by that? When we sleep, all our conscious activities cease. When God is at rest, all activities still proceed.

The Apostles have been walking with Christ for some time now. They observed his way of speech. They observed his mannerisms. They saw him perform miracles.  Even seeing and bearing witness to all these things, God still possessed the ability to amaze them.

The majority of us today will never bear witness to the type of miracles that the Apostles and many of the disciples were privy to seeing during Christ’s time on Earth.  If you have read some of my other sermons, you will know that I constantly try to get you to personalize scripture to life.

The Bible must be applied to your life and your circumstances in order for it to have a long-lasting effect on your life. Reading about what God did for others, will never be as powerful as what God has done for you. God healing you of sickness and disease, will have a more profound effect on your life, then reading about how he did for someone else.

Until God starts doing things in your life personally, and in the lives of your Families, they just become nice stories to tell at night, and maybe around the campfire. Fables. A “once upon a time” tale.  There often packed with wisdom, offer some sort of solace, and oftentimes guidance if a person is facing a situation they don’t yet know how to navigate out of or though.

The Bible can be like that. It’s packed full of wisdom. It can provide solace, and guidance to the reader or listener to help navigate themselves out of a tough or seemingly impossible situation. The answer is not always clear. God is not always clear. As much as we would like him to be. His ways are not our ways. And according to his word, he’s the same today as he was yesterday, so if your waiting for him to change you’ll be waiting a long time.

“He’s the same yesterday as he is today” Hebrews 13:8, so we must find a way to somehow get in-tuned to him, because he communicates with us on a different frequency then what we are accustom too. But he knew this to be impossible.  This is where Jesus comes in.  He sent his Son, who died on the cross and rose from the dead, so he could send his Spirit to dwell inside us. He is the buffer between us and God. He is the one that makes interpretation and communication possible between the eternal and the natural.

The Spirit of God is the one who gets us in-tune with God so we can hear him.  So we can communicate with him effectively. All communication is not effective. Talking at someone versus talking to them is different. It’s not the same. One method is effective, the other is not. The Spirit makes our communication with God effective. Especially when our words are of desperation.

In Matthew 8:25, the disciples woke God up and said, “Lord save us, we are perishing“. We’re dying while you’re sleeping on this boat! The disciples did not forget for 1 second that Jesus was on the boat with them. What they could not understand, is why the boat was being torn apart and tossed all over sea, with him on board sleeping, and not doing anything about the present situation.

This is a familiar scenario. Because as a nation we are now in the midst of a Tempest of sorts.  We are in the midst of a pandemic.  It is tearing people’s lives apart literally. Every day we read about another person being infected, and another person dying.  Many of us have lost our jobs. We have lost our income. We have lost medical insurance. We have lost loved ones. We have lost friends. We have lost the closeness and intimacy of interacting with others for fear of infection. Our boat is our lives, and if the Spirit of God is in you, then that means Jesus is in you, and he is on the boat with you.

When the disciples woke Jesus up, he said in his sleepy voice “You of little faith.  Why are you so afraid?” The Bible describes that when the disciples approached Jesus to awake him, they were in a panic. We are often in a panic when we approach Jesus. Because by the time we get to him, it usually means all of our own attempts and ideas at trying to fix something didn’t work.

We are usually in a panic because we are stressed and anxious about a Tempest that is just getting worse despite all our efforts to fix it or subside it. Jesus is on the boat with the disciples. They could have gone to him sooner.

Let me repeat that “The disciples could have gone to him sooner”. Before all the fear, before all the stress, before all the anxiety, before all the desperation set in. Everyday were being bombarded with new information on cases of infection and death due to Covid 19. People of Asian descent are being called names, and in some instances attacked.

We are taking in all this information, and once we get to a point of fear, worry, and anxiety, we go to the bottom of our boat and wake up Jesus; Lord save us, we are perishing!  If Jesus was just as surprised and concerned about Covid 19 as we are, we would all be in serious trouble. This is one of the great mysteries of God.

That in the midst of chaos and turmoil, he is perfectly organized when there is disorder. It is of great concern only to those who are being impacted.  Since we cannot see inside the realm of eternity, the disorder and chaos in our lives is extremely relevant.

The story of Jesus sleeping on the boat in the midst of surrounding chaos, illustrates to us two things: 1. No matter how chaotic things get here, God still has the ability to control it, subdue it, and eradicate it; 2. Because God has the power to control, subdue, and eradicate any situation, he does not panic. God sleeping on a boat being tossed from one end of the sea to the next is better than being on a ship with one thousand able bodied experienced seamen; 3. Before getting yourself stressed out, fearful, frustrated or resentful, ask God for help.

You are not bothering God when you need him for help. Jesus did not snap at Peter and say “Peter, why did you wake me up just now! Can’t you handle this by yourself without me for once”?  God would never say such a thing!

There is a fine line between our abilities in what we can do, and our faith in the things we cannot do. The Apostles could control their actions, but they could not control or dictate how the Sea or how the wind would respond.

We can wear masks, wash our hands, and not touch other people during this pandemic, but we cannot control who gets sick, who does not, who recovers, and who does not. Many have been infected while practicing safe measurements. We are indeed at this moment, living in a very anxious and fearful environment. Not only is our health at risk, but also our lives economically as we know it. Many are facing eviction. Many are facing a scarcity of food and other necessities. 

Many who have the economic resources are hoarding and preventing others from obtaining the minimum.  We are indeed in the midst of a Tempest. And while we are worrying about our present situation, our future situation, Jesus Christ is on the boat, and he is not worried. Not because he does not feel, but because he will not leave. I have always tried to teach people, do not read the Bible fast. Do not fly through the pages.

When the Apostles finally came to Jesus, they were at their wits end. That means they were experiencing troubles longer than their patience and faith could bear. No one panicked initially when the Coronavirus was announced. There was no panic buying during the first few weeks.  There were no businesses closing during the first weeks. People still had their jobs. People were still gathering. No one fathomed that wearing a mask would become not only a necessity, but a legal declaration.

As time went on, the spread got worse, and businesses were shutting down,  Hospitals were over-run, gatherings of 10 or more became unlawful, the infected rate and the death toll started rising rapidly. It is at this time, the nation is in a panic.

We are at the mercy of Christ, and we are saying to him, wake up and save us, unless we perish. Unless we lose our joy that surpasses all understanding; Less we lose our patience; Less we lose our home(s); Less we lose all our finances; Less we lose our means of transportation; Less we lose our life or the life of someone we love.

And Jesus is saying to us, at this exact moment, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?”. This statement is not an indictment on us. He is not condemning or rebuking us of being worried. He let this event happen back then, for our edification today, that when a Tempest comes, and we are in a panic, and we are unable to stop or withstand the flood, he is on the boat with us, and he will steer the ship.

I cannot tell you if he will steer it in the opposite direction of the Tempest. I cannot tell you if he will steer the boat around the Tempest either.  He may well steer the boat right into the eye of the Tempest, and right out to the other side. I pray that he does this for everyone who reads this. I pray that he is doing this for you right now.

I pray that these words help ease your worries. I do not know my outcome or yours. No one can predict such a thing. Only God is privy to that knowledge.  But what I am privy to tell you, is that Jesus Christ is on this boat with you.  He knows the Tempest is here. He sees the damage and destruction. He can tell the Tempest where it can go, where it cannot, what it can touch, and what it can not.

If you or someone you love, has been infected by this illness, and they were taking all the right precautions and measures, then it was not because Jesus was “asleep” on the boat that the person was infected, it was because he allowed it. Do not love Jesus when he does what is good in your eyes only, love him for what it is he has already done.

This is the thanks we give.  For what God has already done.  We know not the future, but we know that the penalty for our sins have been abolished by his blood.

I say this not to be cruel, but to solidify your love, so it is built upon a sturdy foundation. I am also preaching to myself.  I am not preaching to you only. If we only love when it is to our benefit, then it is not love. We must love when it is to our benefit and when it is not to our benefit.  Jesus was crucified, beaten, spit on, punched, whipped, cursed, slandered, ridiculed, abandoned, disregarded, rejected, and hated. All while this was being done, God declared in Matthew 3:17, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”.

The definition of beloved is to have great affection for someone, and to place the highest value on them. Looking at the life of Jesus did not paint the picture of a man that was beloved by God. But his life was the greatest story for us because he suffered all these things for us. Not to his benefit, but to ours.

He was not the beneficiary of the cross. He did nothing to deserve to go there. We all have a date when our time here is up. We know neither the time, the day, or the method. But rest assure, God does. And he’ll be on the boat with us when that time comes.  Until the end….