Stilling the Tempest

Jeff S. Smith

“NOW WHEN HE GOT into a boat, His disciples followed Him, And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’ But He said to them, ‘Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?’ Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. so the men marveled, saying, ‘Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’”

What was Jesus trying to teach his disciples on this occasion (Matt. 8:23-27)? He had just told one that he would have to forsake all others and follow after him and now he uses the opportunity afforded by this storm on the lake to teach others about a trusting faith–even when a tempest puts that faith in peril.

The Storms of Life’s Trials

As Christians, we too, are traveling with the Lord. But in the life of a Christian, occasionally, storms will fire up and send waves crashing against us. What we must keep in mind when the sky turns gray is that we are still with the Lord and He is with us; we must early decide to turn directly to Jesus and believe that he can help (Rom. 8:31).

James wrote, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience (1:2-3).” Storms of trial are eventually recalled as a positive experience if the one under trial uses them as vehicles for spiritual growth. How does a sailor consider it joyful when the wind blows too hard and the waves pound against the stern? When the storm is past and calm is restored, he is thankful for the experience because he is better for it–better equipped for the next storm.

Like Jonah’s pilots and Jesus’s disciples, we must realize that we are not sailing alone. The testing of our faith by storms here and there will strengthen us instead of destroying us. Having survived, we will be complete and lacking in nothing (Jms. 1:4). We look to Jesus for strength and wisdom and ask in faith that He will deliver, for he who doubts that God can is like a boat on the sea during a hurricane–he is not directed by the wheel, but rather the fickle meanderings of nature; he is tossed about rather than balanced on an even keel. Pray and believe that God will deliver you safely to the shore–that is real faith!  continued inside

 The Sirens of Temptation

In Homer’s epic work, The Odyssey, his hero Odysseus is making what was ordinarily a short trip from Troy back to his home of Ithaca after completing a war. But the return became far more difficult as the odyssey began and the voyage turned treacherous. At one point, they were forced to sail past the dwelling place of the Sirens, sea nymphs whose singing lured men to certain death. Odysseus anticipated this and had his crew put wax in their ears to prevent hearing even a note of the temptation to disaster. As for himself, Odysseus took a different tack. He really wanted to hear the enchanting song so he had himself tied to the mast so that he could listen to the melody.

Homer’s image of the enchanting Sirens is incredibly descriptive of the power of temptation and the danger of enticement. No matter how destructive temptations may be in reality, the devil can make them look and sound sweet and beautiful and appealing. He makes alcohol and drugs look like the marks of sophistication and maturity. He makes sexual relationships outside of marriage look like exciting adventures in human love. He defines greed, selfishness and vengeance as high self-esteem and creativity. Just like a sailor to the Sirens, a Christian can be drawn to temptation if he doesn’t exercise godly wisdom.

Pray as Jesus, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Ask yourself how much value Jesus is to you and how much value heaven is to you? “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him (Jms. 1:12).”

Walk in the path of Moses, who “refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin (Heb. 11:23-24).”

The best way to deal with the enticement to sin is to avoid a confrontation with it, if at all possible. Don’t be where the temptation sings like the Sirens.

The Icebergs of Unrealized Danger

On the evening of April 14, 1912, the S.S. Titanic, began speeding through the smooth Atlantic seas, bound from Southampton, England, to New York City on her maiden voyage. Nearby steamers had issued reports of dangerous ice floes. The Californian, less than 20 miles from the Titanic, had stopped her engines until conditions improved. But the “unsinkable” Titanic sped confidently on. At 11:40 p.m., the lookout on the Titanic’s bridge saw an ominous shape ahead. “Ice! Dead ahead! A big berg!” he shouted. The helm was turned hard over; the engines were reversed. But it was too late. A 300 foot gash was ripped along the side of the Titanic’s hull as though it were made of tin.

When the accident occurred, there was little excitement among the passengers. They were told only that there might be a slight delay. The ship’s orchestra continued to play popular tunes and many of the passengers were actually pleased at the chunks of ice sprinkling down on the deck–they picked them up and dropped them into their drinks. But all the time the Titanic’s bow was settling deeper by the minute. When the command was finally given to enter the lifeboats, many passengers still refused to believe that the ship was in real danger.

At 2:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912, the Titanic, then the world’s largest and most luxurious ocean liner, disappeared into the icy depths of the North Atlantic. With her she took the lives of some 1,500 men, women, and children–more casualties than in any other marine disaster in peacetime history. The 46,500 ton vessel sank in less than three hours. Lloyd’s of London, the firm which had insured the Titanic, had reasoned that the probability of such an event was one in a million.

The engineers who built the ship believed it was unsinkable and that is also the attitude of many Christians who sail near temptations. The Israelites that Paul describes in I Corinthians 10:1-12 would seem to have been a lock for God’s approval, when one considers all God had done for them and all they had seen. And yet, they fell.

Paul writes for the benefit of the Christian who says, in response to a temptation: “It won’t affect me.”

The Titanic passengers had read all the hype about this unsinkable ship and they believed every word–the ship was rocked by an iceberg and their faith in her builders did not waver. They didn’t recognize real danger when it arrived, but they soon found their faith in men was ill placed.

Christians are imperiled all the time by unrealized danger. The greatest unrealized danger that Christians willfully experience is by skipping services. So little is thought of God’s solemn command to assemble that some saints choose to be elsewhere. Even though the bible regales us with the vital importance of the Lord’s Supper (I Cor. 11), some count it unworthy of their time (Heb. 10:29). Some are so unmoved by the example of Ananias and Sapphira that they think nothing of the weekly contribution (I Cor. 16:1-4). Some feel so independently wise that the weekly sermon is of little concern at all (II Tim. 2:15). Some Christians feel so beyond exhortation that prayer and singing are exercises in futility in their minds (Eph. 5:19-20).

 As their vessels strike the iceberg, they imagine no danger. And all the while, their faith is slowly sinking to perdition.