Jesus Christ informed His disciples of their transition to the other side, a journey that was obviously targeted at freeing a great man destined for greatness but bound by powers of darkness (Mk. 5:1-20). On their way, a great storm arose to hinder them from getting there and possibly, terminate their lives in the process but His presence surmounted the raging storm. The disciples drew the attention of the Ancient of Days to their dilemma and with a word, He rebuked the wind and the wind ceased instantly. Eventually, they arrived at their destination and He delivered the great man that was bound, released his destiny from bondage and he became an Evangelist in Decapolis.
A storm is a very dangerous wave that has devastating tendencies. While there are natural storms, we also have spiritual storms. A natural storm originates when a low pressure system is surrounded by a high pressure system. Small areas of low pressure can form from hot air rising off hot ground. Hot air will rise, and when the hot air collides with cold air, the hot air is forced up over the colder, drier air. When the warmer air is displaced upwards, it causes surface air pressure to drop, which creates something of a vacuum effect where the two air masses meet. Cold air then rushes in to fill the area of lower air pressure, and this in turn forces more warm air upwards. This starts a cycle of cold air rushing in, pushing the warm air upwards. It is this very turbulence that causes the natural storm.
When a storm occurs, there are displacement of organised structures; the family, home and places that have been organised suddenly become disorganised as there are forceful changes and things are turned completely upside down ( Job 21:28, 27:21). To reduce the consequences of a storm, captains of ships are trained to avoid stormy locations. When a natural storm is in sight however, the ship passengers are commanded not to loiter, luggages are properly organised in their compartments, breakable utensils are securely kept out of the reach of passengers and cargoes are jettisoned to lighten the weight of the vessel (cf Acts 27:18) among other precautionary measures.
While the effect of a physical storm can be sighted and ameliorated, a spiritual storm is not visible to human eyes, it evolves suddenly like the experiences of the woman with the issue of blood, the great Naaman and the only child of the Shunamite woman who were attacked suddenly, and it imposes a ‘but’ in human testimonies (Mk. 5:25-26; 2Kings 5:1-14; 2 Kings 4:18-20). The destructive capacity of a spiritual storm is colossal and devastating. The damages therefrom are beyond human imagination, leads to injuries, terrible destruction of lives, destinies, properties and institutions; and even loss of lives.
The spiritual storm manifests in sudden hatred among couples leading to thoughts of separation or divorce, sudden strange behaviours, a thriving business suddenly going down, perennial visits to Doctors, unexplainable loss of revenue, a thriving business outfit going down, increasing expenditure without commensurate increase in income, inability to meet financial, matrimonial and occupational demands, friends suddenly becoming enemies, hatred by superior officers etc.
Brethren, that Jesus is in your boat does not exclude you from a spiritual storm. That your are a born again Christian or a Pastor does not exclude you from the challenges of life. David buttressed this by saying that ” many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers them from all” ( Psalm 34:19 cf Jn 16:33). James the brother of John was killed in a spiritual storm orchestrated by Herod Agrippa when the church was silent but when the church arose to pray, the story changed and the captors became the captives ( Acts 12).
Therefore, it doesn’t matter what your experience may be today, there is a God who specialises at making ‘the storm calm, so that the waves thereof are still’ ( Psalm 107:29). He is the One that is “a refuge from the storm” (Isaiah 25:4). The Almighty God is He that ” sits upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in” ( Isaiah 40:22). He is your God and will never allow you to be put to shame. The present storm that you are wading through has a terminal date with Him- it is surmountable! At His presence, the evil spirit behind the roars of the storms are silenced and its powers are made of no consequence.
At this Lenten season brethren, I encourage you to build your life on the Rock (Matthew 7:24 cf Romans 9:33), allow Him into the boat of your life, surrender to Him absolutely, call on Him at all times, obey Him in all things and have faith in His power to deliver. As you continue to fast, pray and have faith in God, He would reverse every evil order and give you peace over the spiritual storms in Jesus’ name.
Prayers: Almighty God come into the boat of my life, calm every storm, take me to the other side of my life, terminate my weepings and restore the joy of my salvation, in Jesus’ name.
