After the Storm

After The Storm

The last few verses of Mark 4 deal with a storm the disciples went through. Jesus was asleep in the ship and the disciples were furiously trying to get to the other side of the lake before they drowned.  But through all this, Jesus was at peace.  In the same way He was at peace, the disciples could have had peace.  It’s easy to preach on the storms for it seems you have a ready audience;  for many are going through the storms of a Christian life.  One man aptly said, “There are three stages of a Christian life; you are in a storm; or, you are getting ready to enter a storm; or, you are coming out of a storm."  But what I want to look at this week is, what are you doing after the storm?  Storms do come to an end.  They do subside and we must be ready to use that time wisely for the Lord.  Sure, it’s difficult to be effective in His work when the storms are rocking you.  It’s hard to be the witness you need to be when your world is turned upside down.  But the storm does and will end and then what will you do?  Notice these four thoughts this week.

After the storm there are always others who need help.  In Mark 5, Jesus and His disciples landed in Gadara and there met Him a maniac who lived among the tombs.  He couldn’t be tamed and couldn’t be tied for he broke the chains and fetters which held him.  When he saw Jesus he ran and worshipped Him.  He cried with a loud voice, “What have I to do with thee Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.”  This man was possessed by a legion of devils, and needed help and received help when Jesus cast out the devils, and they entered into the swine which drowned themselves in the sea.  Those who watched the swine went into the city and told the owners of the swine what had happened.  The people came out to see what went on and they saw this maniac clothed, in his right mind, and seated at the feet of Jesus. He got help from the One who could administer help.  Later in the chapter you see a ruler of the synagogue, Jairus by name, whose daughter was almost dead and he came to Christ seeking help for her.  As Jesus was on the way to his house a woman with an issue of blood for twelve years came and touched the hem of His garment and was made whole.  She too needed help.  There are those around us all the time that need our help.  Many are spiritually wounded, financially depleted, many with family problems or health concerns, who need some encouragement.  Let’s look around and see who we can help today.

After the storm we always need to worship.  In Matt. 14 after Jesus walked on the water to enter the ship, the winds were calmed and the disciples fell down and worshipped Him.  He is worthy of our worship at all times but I think we have forgotten how to worship.  Worship means to adore, to reverence and to perform acts of reverence.  We have our worship services and we go through them half hearted.  We sing without ever thinking of the meaning of the songs. Our minds wander while the preacher is trying to preach.  There’s no worship there!  When we come to church we need to have our hearts and minds on Jesus and Him only.  The storm is over let us worship Him and thank Him for His protection in the storm.  But no, we treat Him as a spare tire.  We need Him in the troubles we face but when things are going well we never think of Him.  May God help us to get back to real worship.

After the storm there is always more work to do.  In Matt. 14 after the storm they landed in Gennesaret and many who lived there, went throughout the area and brought those who were diseased to Him and He healed them.  My mind wonders how did they know about Jesus and His power?  After the maniac was delivered he determined to follow Jesus, but Jesus told him to go and tell others what the Lord had done for him.  He went and published it in Decapolis, Mk.5:20.  Now, Decapolis is really ten cities in Gadara or Gennesaret.  He had been busy telling others of Jesus, and when Jesus came to their country they believed what He did for the maniac, He would do for them.  After the storm Jesus was found working and not sitting by idle.  After the storm in Acts 26, Paul and those on the ship were delivered to Melita where the inhabitants were very kind to them.  They were wet, cold and tired after the terrible storm they came through and the people of the island built a fire to warm them.  Paul was found in Acts 28 gathering sticks to put on the fire.  He didn’t sit around and let someone take care of him.  He was able to help and he helped.  I realize there are some folk who need assistance, but there are way too many who can help themselves who are just too lazy to work and provide for themselves and their families

Lastly, there are always those who need the Gospel preached to them.  Where ever you go there are those who are lost.  After Jonah went through his storm in chapter one, the word of the Lord came to him a second time and told him to go to Nineveh and preach what God says.  He preached judgment was coming but also he preached about God Himself;  for the Bible says they believed God.  They called a fast and all repented, from the king on down, and the judgment of God was stayed until a later time in scripture.  There are always those who need the Gospel and we who have the truth of God need to publish it.  We are told to “Preach the gospel to every creature."  There is no wrong person to tell about the Lord.

Sure we have to face the storms of life and sure they hinder us at times, but the storms do end and it is during those times we need to be busy for God.  What are you doing for the Lord after the storm?