Have You Been Going Through Storms in your life? Keep Your Eyes Fixed on Jesus.

In today's episode, I will be talking about the literal and figurative storms in our lives. In Kentucky, we had severe weather a few weeks ago that lasted about a week. The tornadoes, storms, and flooding that happened got me thinking. There were so many people freaking out about the bad weather and not knowing where to turn. I know that someone is reading this who has been going through figurative storms in their life as well. Today, I want to go into our hope during these storms and what we should be focusing on. I will be pairing this with prayer, scripture, and a story time.

First, I want to say a quick prayer: "LORD, I pray that you lift up every single person reading this right now. Please open our eyes, ears, hearts, and minds to you, LORD. I pray that we know that You are right here with us and that You will never leave or forsake us. Thank you, Lord, for everything that You do. I pray that whatever it is that each person is supposed to receive from this episode, they receive it and implement it in their daily lives. I love You with every ounce of my being. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Now let's get into some scripture:

"On that day, when evening had come, he told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” So they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat. And other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?” He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Then he said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” And they were terrified and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!” -Mark 4:35-41

So there was this big storm happeneing and the disciples were freaking out thinking that they were about to be trampled by the sea. Jesus was just over there sleeping on the boat. The disciples woke him up and and were freaking out because they didn't think he cared that they were about to die from the storm. A lot of us in our lives, whenever there are physical storms or figurative storms that happen, our immediate reaction is to freak out. We may also feel like God doesn't care, or "Why would He let these things happen to us?" We can see in these verses that even the waves and the sea obey Jesus. Whenever Jesus speaks, whoever or whatever He speaks to listens.

Jesus was able to just sleep on the boat and not be afraid because He knows everything, He is in complete control, and He knew everything was going to be okay. The disciples and people who were with Jesus were with the one who speaks, and demons flee. They were with the one who speaks and silences the waves. They were with the resurrected king. They were with our Savior. The one who was crucified on the cross and rose 3 days later. Jesus is our hope, and He is the one that we have to keep our eyes fixed on. At the time, the disciples didn't realize all of this because they were so afraid. Even though they were with the one who can do all things.

As believers of Jesus Christ, we have the Holy Spirit within us. We have Jesus with us at all times, and He never leaves or forsakes us. Whenever there are literal storms in our lives or there are circumstances that feel like storms in our lives, we have the one who can quiet the storms right by our side at all times. We have to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, have faith, and stand firm in our faith. Yes, we are going to have troubles in this world, and we won't be able to understand why things keep happening. We may wonder, "If Jesus can silence the sea, calm the storms, and do all things, then why doesn't He do it right away?" We will never be able to understand why because we are not God. We cannot see the way He sees, and we do not know the things that He knows.

In John 16:33, Jesus says, "I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” So He is telling the disciples the things that He says in the book of John so that they will have peace. Also with that peace, He is saying that in this world they will have sufferings, but He has already overcome the world. Things will happen, and there will be times when we will feel like we are drowning with all of our circumstances and things that are happening, and we have to take heart because Jesus has overcome the world.

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand." -Isaiah 41:10

"but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint." -Isaiah 40:31

"Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. After dismissing the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Well into the night, he was there alone. Meanwhile, the boat was already some distance from land, battered by the waves, because the wind was against them. Jesus came toward them walking on the sea very early in the morning. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and they cried out in fear. Immediately Jesus spoke to them. “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter answered him, “command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.”

And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those in the boat worshiped him and said, “Truly you are the Son of God.” -Matthew 14:22-33

So Jesus commanded Peter to walk on the water. As Peter was keeping his eyes fixed on Jesus, he was walking on the water. The moment that Peter started paying attention to his surroundings of being in the sea in the strong winds and waves, he started to freak out and thought he was going to drown, and was asking the LORD to save him. Jesus saved him, and he said, "Why did you doubt?" So often we will go through life trying to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. You may have good intentions every day to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, and then inevitably, stuff happens, and you start paying attention to the bad things and lose sight of the one who calms the sea and saves our souls. When we lose sight, then we start freaking out and we think that the world is going to end and everything is just so horrible. We have to make sure that we are keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus because He is our only hope. He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ. With Jesus Christ, we have the Holy Spirit in us, and when it's our time to go, we will go to heaven with Jesus and God the Father.

So a little story time... My sister, my niece, and my nephew stayed the night with me a couple of weeks ago when there were bad tornado warnings. My niece and I were lying in bed, trying to get some sleep because the warnings had stopped. We were praying and she was freaking out because of the storms and the winds were picking up and we could hear it through the window. I was asking her what the worst possible scenario she could think of was, and she said that we would die. I asked her what happens when we die, and she said that we go to heaven. So I explained to her that the worst possible scenario in this world is the best thing because we will be in heaven with Jesus, where there is no sadness or bad weather. Listen here to get the full story.

Here are a few other scriptures:

"Others went to sea in ships, conducting trade on the vast water. They saw the Lord’s works, his wondrous works in the deep. He spoke and raised a stormy wind that stirred up the waves of the sea. Rising up to the sky, sinking down to the depths, their courage melting away in anguish, they reeled and staggered like a drunkard, and all their skill was useless. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper, and the waves of the sea were hushed. They rejoiced when the waves grew quiet. Then he guided them to the harbor they longed for. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all humanity."

-Psalm 107: 23-31

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and the rivers will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, and the flame will not burn you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior. I have given Egypt as a ransom for you, Cush and Seba in your place."

-Isaiah 43:2-3

The LORD is the Almighty. He can do all things. He is in complete control and we can trust Him. He has faithful love, and He is kind and compassionate. This doesn't mean that there won't be storms and disasters that won't happen, or we won't face hardships, but we can put our hope and trust in the LORD and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. When we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, that is going to help us so much to be able to weather the storms. Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus is going to give us the strength to grow through it.

"Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." -Hebrews 12:1-2

We have to run with endurance and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. We can't pay too much attention to our surroundings. I know that we have to live in this world, but we are not supposed to conform to the world. Our circumstances do not define us; what defines us is Jesus Christ. When we are saved by Jesus, we are made new in Him. We have to keep our eyes fixed on Him. We have to be in the Bible daily, implementing the teachings of Jesus, and reciting scriptures to ourselves. Also, keeping in constant communication with the LORD through prayer is so important. When you have a relationship with anyone, you want to keep in constant communication; that should be the same in our relationship with Jesus.

So I hope this episode helped you guys to realize that Jesus calms the storms, and the most important thing for us to do is fix our eyes on Jesus through every aspect of our lives and stand firm in our faith. That is it for today's episode, I will see you guys next week.

I love you guys so much.

Never forget to choose faith over fear.

-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)

p.s. If you'd rather listen to Faith-based, spiritual growth, mindset, and mental health tips, then check out my podcast. There I will share my personal experiences, stories I've never told before, and bring you along with this hot mess life of mine. New episodes every week.

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Scripture taken from The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.