Hold On!

 

Weather bombs, storms, winds and floods have pounded countries, regions, cities and towns in recent months. There are more coming, we are told.  Climate change they say. Barely have we recovered from one storm and another is on its way.

It may well be climate change, but these physical storms we are being assailed with are mirroring the emotional, relational and social storms we are trying to ride right now too.  We thought the two years of a pandemic were bad enough, but the post-pandemic storms are unrelenting. Emotional stress, social change, economic strain, war, violence in our communities, anxiety and fear continue to pound us. Poor mental health is centre stage for children, young people and adults. As wave after wave of “bad news” breaks over us, how can we survive?

In January, as we were coming out of lockdown into the red traffic light setting, my daily Bible readings were in Mark 6.  Jesus had sent his disciples ahead of him in the boat but a storm blew up on the Galilee lake.  They were hard pressed, rowing against the wind,  blown off course and struggling.  Jesus came to them in the middle of the storm and climbed into the boat with them.  He didn’t leave them to face the storm alone.  As I read the passage, I thought about the two years of lockdowns we had endured and hoped that we were done with storms.  We weren’t.  I wasn’t.  Less than a week later a vicious storm struck sending shock waves through our faith community. Over the last six months the wind and waves have continued to pound, not only my faith community but others throughout our nation. How do we survive these relentless storms?

I turned again to the passage in Mark 6.    First, no matter the circumstance we are facing, Jesus is in the boat with us.  He has always promised to be with us no matter what.  Nothing, Paul wrote, can separate us from the love of God.  Regardless of the storm you are in, the height of the waves, the fierceness of the gale or how many times you feel like you are going down, Jesus is with you. Hold on to that single thought. Secondly, Jesus got them to their destination. They reached the shore.  Yes they were blown off course, but again quoting Paul in Romans 8, all things work together for good, even storms. Jesus will get you to the other side. Hold on to that lifeline too.

I cannot tell you how many times I have gone back to this passage as the weeks unfolded and the wind and waves of circumstances continued to break over my “little boat”.   Some years ago I had a near drowning experience when a rip pulled me out from shore into the deep very quickly.  I was swimming alone and there was no one on the beach to help.  I was very alone in a very scary place, swallowing water and being pounded by the next wave, then the next wave, exhausted. All I could do was cry “Jesus, help!” I spoke those words over and over again as images of news headlines flashed through my mind – “Woman drowns at local beach”.

Over the last few months, I have sat in the dark, crying “Jesus help!” as waves of stress hit again and again.  As I write this, I am very aware that many people are facing worse storms than I have endured.  I have friends struggling with long covid, wondering what on earth has hit them. I have seen other friends struggle with cancer and health issues, or anxiety, people trying to navigate through post-covid economic stress and relationships that were so fractured by divisive theories and accusations – all wondering what on earth has happened.  Wave after wave has struck.

Many of the disciples were hardened fishermen who had endured storms on the lake before, but even they were distressed and afraid.  They had obeyed Jesus’ command to go on ahead, yet here they were in a ferocious storm. They were right in the will of God.  We often think that if we are right in the will of God storms will not be part of our journey. Not true. Storms are part of the journey.  Because it is in the storm we find Jesus and we discover what our faith rests on. But, Jesus seeing their distress came to them. 

Let me now take you to another storm passage in the Bible, Acts 26.  Paul and his companions are in a storm of epic proportions somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. They are being driven by the wind unable to raise a sail or steer the ship.  The tackle has been washed overboard, the sea anchors are not holding.  The cargo has been dumped and they fear for their lives.  Luke describes the storm in graphic detail. It goes on for days and days, weeks even.  In the middle of the storm Paul has an encounter with an angel.  Now, seriously, if I had an encounter with an angel in a storm I would at the least be expecting an instant deliverance from the storm, the wind and waves to cease their pounding and the sun to come out, but no!  This storm and Paul’s experience in it, so reflects our reality.  There was no escaping the storm.  I cannot tell you how many times I have wanted to find the escape route when faced with a storm but no, this is not the way through.  The angel strengthens Paul for what is come.   Yes, more storm and more danger.  Paul finds, just as I have found, that in the middle of the storm God is with us!  God has not abandoned his servant Paul and he will not abandon you.  Hold on!  Paul declares that if they stay with the ship they will all be saved.  When the storm is raging and it looks like the ship is about to sink, to stay with the ship requires faith – faith that God will bring you through.  Even though they have been blown off course, Paul has faith that God will bring him to Rome.  All is not over.  Friend, it is not over for you either.  Hold on!

I am sure you have heard the expression, that it is darkest just before the dawn.  Storms often get worse before they finally blow themselves out.  I know that in the last few weeks, the storm I was in certainly packed a few punches before it finally came to an end.  Paul’s ship did break up and everyone ended up in the water clinging to broken pieces of wood but they all made it to shore. They got through alive!  Hold on to the fact that no matter what, God is good, He loves you and He is with you.  You will come to the shore.  There is hope and there is life after a storm.  What’s your ship? What is keeping you afloat during this time?  I pray it is Jesus and his promise to be with you always.  Hold on and don’t let go, even when you are tempted to like the sailors in Paul’s storm who tried to abandon the ship.  Don’t, hold on to faith.  Hold on to Jesus.  Hold on to the promises of God. Hold on to that song, that bible passage, that word of encouragement – it is your “angel” strengthening you and encouraging you – you will come through this.

From being caught in a rip and discovering that Jesus could literally save me from drowning, to enduring this more recent round of storms where I have felt like I was drowning, I can say with absolute assurance, once again, that Jesus is with me.  He has been there in many wonderful ways throughout the storm.  The disciples would not have discovered that Jesus could walk on water to them, if they had not been in the storm.  Paul and those who were on the ship with him discovered that God is the God of storms and the God who keeps his word.

In both storm accounts – the one in Mark and the one in Acts – there was abundant life after the storm.  Miracles broke out.  I am holding out for that promise too.