by Julia Bennett
“Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever” Hebrews 13:8
We live in a world of uncertainty, a world where economies fall to pieces and entire nations break into war in the blink of an eye. On a more personal level people die, jobs are lost, relationships change and persecution comes. When things seem calm in our lives, we often feel self-sufficient. This false sense of security fails in the face of a single difficult circumstance. When we’ve been running on our own strength and it proves to be insufficient our foundation can feel shaky; after all, a foundation built on self is no foundation at all. However, there is a foundation that is secure in every circumstance — Christ.
We can know with certainty, the same God who sustained His children since the beginning of time and has been faithful in our own lives will sustain us tomorrow and all the days that follow. I have found when my life seems to be falling apart, it becomes most evident Jesus is the only certainty there is to truly cling to. When the storms of life are swelling around us, pushing us around, pulling us under, He is the only thing that will remain steady. He is an anchor to those who choose to hold on. Jesus is seen clearly in the storm. This spiritual truth was shown in literal storms in multiple places in the Bible; one example is found in Mark 4.
Mark 4:35-41 Jesus Stills the Sea
“On that day, when evening came, He said to them, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’ And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Hush, be still.’ And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They became very much afraid and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?’”
In this passage, the disciples were worried the Lord had forgotten them because there was a storm raging. He had not forgotten them; He simply let the storm come so He could show them His power, faithful love and protection.
I recently heard a pastor ask the question, “Could it be that He slept through the storm because what seemed like a large storm to the disciples, was not a storm to Him?” God understands the challenges that are truly real and tangible to us, but we can know that even the biggest storms can be hushed with one quiet from Him. It is comforting to me that He is truly sovereign. That doesn’t mean there won’t be troubles; they are a part of living in a broken world that longs for eternal redemption. (Romans 8:18-25) His sovereignty also doesn’t mean He has a detached view of our struggles. On the contrary, He cares about each detail of our lives.
Jesus is the same God today as He was 2,000 years ago when He told the wind and the sea to obey Him. He wants you to know that He, the God who commands the sea, is in the storm with you. He sits in the boat, quietly reassuring you and asking you to have faith. He is stronger than the storm. You just have to trust that He is enough and recognize that you are not self-sufficient; you need His grace and strength as you put yourself under His leading.
Fix your eyes on Him. No matter what uncertainties you are facing, all of who He is will always be all you truly need. He is all we can depend on in such a world of trouble. We are given a choice between living a life of chaos and uncertainty or clinging to the hope of Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today and forever.