A sermon based on Matthew 14:22-33, Rev. J. Orlando Flahn
Have you stared down the waves and wind lately? I mean, real life storms? A sudden death of a loved one. What seemed like a routine trip to the doctor suddenly becomes a devastating diagnosis. That moment can shake your faith to the core. Isn’t it? After years of marriage, your spouse looks you in the eye and says, “I just don’t love you anymore, and I’m leaving.” Or perhaps your best friend, whom you trusted completely, betrays you. Or you show up at work one day only to be handed a pink slip by your boss.
These are the real-life storms raging daily in our lives—the struggles faced by real people sitting in our churches each Sunday, in our families, in our communities, in our nations, and around the world. Young man, young woman, if you have not yet faced the waves and wind, wait and prepare: they will come. Chaos and storms are constant companions on our life’s journey.
Troubles are simply a normal part of being human in a broken world. As Job said, “Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.” (Job 14:1 NKJV) Storms come with one purpose, especially for believers in Christ: to distract us and take our eyes off Jesus, causing us to sink deep below….But here’s one thing we need to remember: wind, waves, and chaos will come—but if we focus on Jesus, we will rise above it all. Having Jesus in the midst of your storms, is not just a hopeful part of your faith journey—it’s what helps us deal with life’s storms. Don’t forget: sudden storms, winds, waves, and chaos come to try to wreck your faith.
Why do we need to focus our eyes on Jesus in our storms?
First, because it is Jesus alone who restores peace and calm in the storm.
In today’s Gospel story, we find the disciples staring a severe storm in the eye. It all begins immediately after the feeding of the five thousand, when Jesus compels the disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side while He sends the crowds away. The word “compel” in the original language means “to strongly urge or invite someone to do something they naturally do not want to do, to force, or to pressure with both inner and outer compulsion” (William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, University of Chicago Press, 2000, p. 60).
It is not clear why Jesus compelled His disciples to leave Him alone. Did He know they would be facing a severe storm? We don’t know. But in verse 23, we learn that, “After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.”
Perhaps Jesus simply wanted time alone in prayer with His heavenly Father…..seeing Him step away from the crowds and from His disciples to seek an intimacy with the Father in prayer. It was His practice, desiring anf finding a solitary place, most often up on the mountain to pray. In this case, I believe that up there on that mountain, He was interceding for His disciples as well, knowing they were about to face a very dangerous storm suddenly that night.
In the NLT version, we read, “Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves.”
APP: Two things happen to you emotionally when you face a severe storm and find yourself fighting heavy waves: fear (you are afraid)…. and you are restless (you have no peace)….
APP: Are you in the middle of a severe storm this morning? Is your relationship is rocking? Losing your loved one to cancer, etc.? Are you afraid and restless? Losing sleep? Peace? Fear the future? Listen: Jesus has not abandoned you…..Jesus is with you…..He wants to speak peace into your life’s storm.
In the middle of the night facing the wind and waves, we see Jesus comes walking on the sea toward them. The disciples panicked, and in their fear they cried out, “It is a ghost!” But immediately, Jesus calmed their fear and restlessness: “Tak.e courage, it is I; do not be afraid!” (v. 27)
Truly, facing storms can challenge our faith and often leaves us feeling that God has forsaken us. But here’s what’s important to know when we are afraid, restless, and terrified in life’s storms: the peace of Christ that surpasses all human understanding is what you desperately need…..Hear His voice saying to you in your storm: “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
QUOTE: Someone points out, “On the surface of the ocean, a violent hurricane can thrash the water into massive, dangerous waves. However, marine biologists note that just a few fathoms down, the ocean is completely undisturbed and still. Christ is our deep anchor; we can experience His internal peace even while on the surface the storms are raging around us. [1, 2]
Secondly, Jesus Reassures Us of His Presence in Our Storms
We need not jus His peace in our challenges, but we need to be aware that His presence is with us…That we can make it through the severe winds and dangerous storms of life because He is with us. And focusing on Him gives us the faith and the strength we need in the face of the severe storms. One thing the enemy tries to do in the storms is distort or blur our sense of God’s presence.
As the disciples battered the waves and wind in the darkest night, they must have felt the absence of Jesus, feeling as though they were facing the storms all alone. But then, here comes the Savior, the Master of the waves, and He assures them, “It is I; do not be afraid!”
APP: Fear tries to control what you see in the midst of your troubles. And when fear controls your vision, the worst often happens. But Jesus speaks: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
I love Peter’s response: “Lord, if it is truly You, let me come to You on the water.” Jesus replies, “Come on, Peter. All things are possible to those who believe.”
Peter got down out of the boat and literally started to walk on the water as long as his eyes were on Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he became afraid and began to sink, crying out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out and caught him. Jesus said to him, “Peter, you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Why did you take your eyes off Me? Why did you doubt My presence?”
APP: Like Peter, so many of us see only the raging seas around us, but miss the presence of God. When the storms of life are raging, we often allow fear to control our vision and lose our focus on Jesus.
We forget all about the Word of God and His promises to us. When we take our eyes off Jesus and focus on our problems, we fall under the weight of our circumstances. Keep your eyes fixed on Him, not on your troubles. APP: Don’t keep looking at the waves, the wind, or the darkness of the night……“Lord, I can’t see You. I don’t feel You!” But look, friend, He’s right there in front of you. This is a profound truth God is teaching us this morning…..Peter began to walk on the water as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, but when he took his eyes off Jesus, he began to sink.
The Bible says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”……not by what we see or by what we feel…… Know that Jesus is with you! You are never alone!
APP: Are you sinking right now in despair? Keep looking to Jesus…..keep fixing your eyes on Him. He is “the author and finisher of our faith.”
I love Peter’s prayer. It is so sincere, so heartfelt, and so short. “Lord, please save me!” When you are drowning under the waves, you don’t need a long prayer: “Our Father, who art in heaven…” By the time you get to “Lead us not into temptation,” you’re at the bottom of the sea! When you face storms, all you need to say to Jesus is, “Lord, please save me!” He will save you—and you will experience His presence.
Finally, He Reveals His Identity in Our Storms
Jesus reveals who He truly is to us in our storms. We read in verses 32-33: “And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.” That was a miracle. “Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Truly You are the Son of God.’”
Jesus walked on water, Peter walked on water, and when Jesus got into the boat with Peter, the wind ceased.
When you are going through a storm, Jesus will reveal Himself to you like never before……And you will find yourself confessing, “Truly, You are the Son of God,” and you will worship Him.
Notice, this was the disciples’ first time in the Gospel story, to worship Jesus……They declared, “Truly You are the Son of God” and they worshiped Him…Why? Who else could feed over five thousand people with a few loaves of bread and two fish? Who else could walk on water? And who else could silence the raging storm? Only the Son of the living God—He alone deserves our worship….But above all, who else could defeat death and the grave, and rose again from the dead victoriously?
CONCLUSION: The Story: A farmer advertised for a farmhand. An older, thin man applied. When asked why he was qualified, the man replied, “I can sleep when the wind blows.” Confused, the farmer hired him anyway. Later, a massive Atlantic storm slammed the coast. The panicked farmer ran to the barn to wake him up….But the old man rolled over and said, “No sir. I told you in the interview, that I can sleep when the wind blows and the storm is raging.” [1]
True faith does not mean the absence of a storm. It means deep trust in the Master……allowing us to rest in His peace while the winds roar around us. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
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