Trusting God in the Storm

Who Will You Trust? • Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

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Taking a look at what Jesus requires of those who would follow Him, and truly maintaining our trust in God through the difficult times that are bound to come as a result.

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Opening

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Today is Nov. 11th - over 2 years since my diagnosis. It was Nov. 2, 2015 when my doctor at MD Anderson told me that the spots on my liver were cancerous just before they put me under and cut me in half to take out my left adrenal gland where my large tumor was. So when I woke up, not only had I been cut in half, not only was I unable to go to the bathroom on my own, not only was I unable to walk, I knew I was supposed to die in about 4 years, give or take. That was a really bad day for me - the day that the biggest storm in my life as of today made landfall. And here I am over 2 years later, wondering how much more time I’ve got left, all while trying to keep my head above water and stay afloat.

I am so tired. I have been for a while now. And I don’t know how long until it will end. Nor do I know how it’s going to end. I’ve prayed for and believe that God will heal me, and I know that many of you have prayed the same thing. And I'm so thankful for those prayers because I believe that they do more than any of us could ever know. And I know that God could just say the word and make it all go away in a split second, but what if that scenario doesn’t fit into His plans? So here I am, still in this storm with no land in sight, as it were. And I think the most disheartening thing is that it’s certainly not for lack of trying on my part. If you had told this southeast Texan boy 5 years ago that I would go vegan, I would have thrown my ribeye steak in your face. But I did. You wouldn’t believe some of the stuff that I’ve eaten. And my diet isn’t the only thing that has undergone a makeover of sorts. I left the Civil Engineering business. I moved my family across America. I’ve been poked with more needles than I can count through which I’ve been given who knows how many gallons of IV fluids and medications. I’ve fasted numerous times anywhere from 1 to 10 days each time, during which I have prayed and prayed and prayed for healing. But here I am, still sick, still waiting.

But the reality is that this auditorium is full of people who have been hit by storms. And, by the way, just because my storm is this color, shape, or flavor, doesn’t mean that other storms don’t hurt. They all do. For some of you, that was an actual storm named Harvey. And you are probably still trying to get your lives and homes put back together. And it’s been hard stuff. For some of you, it's your physical health that is suffering, or it's a psychological whirlwind like depression or anxiety. For others, it's your family or job situation. And that’s just a few examples.

I don’t know what it is that’s going on in your life, and I don't know why God allows people who He loves to suffer. I don't know why there aren't other ways to learn lessons. There’s a lot that I don't know. And quite frankly, it's not my intention to try to answer these questions tonight. But what I do know is that everyone has their own storm to weather. I don't care who you are, how much money you have, how appealing your personality is, or how pretty you are - storms are currently around you, on their way, or both, and they hurt, regardless of the shape or flavor. And just like when Abraham obeys God and proceeds to kill his son Isaac and God stops him and says, “Now I know that you fear YHWH…”, it’s in those moments when I believe we as well as God find out if we really trust Him or not.

Reagan’s FB slide.

Following Jesus

Time and chance happens to everyone. Jesus Himself tells us this on several occasions (, for example). But if you’re a follower of Jesus, you need to know that that sometimes means walking into the storm. See, the unfortunate irony of the whole situation is that despite the shellshock of a cancer diagnosis, cancer was exactly what I asked for. Since the day I was born into a loving, secure, God-fearing, God-loving family to 2 wonderful parents who taught me the ways of Christ from day 1 to the day that I climbed a mountain in Yosemite just weeks before my diagnosis, I was being trained for this - not to mention all of the prayers that I made asking for God to mold me and shape me and use me to His glory. Every Bible class, every sermon, every devo, every heartfelt conversation I’ve had (many of which have taken place with some of you in this room) - just another training exercise, if you will. Now let me be clear, cancer was the last thing I expected, especially when I was 24. But now that I’m here looking backwards, hindsight 20-20, I honestly can’t even imagine what life would have been like outside of cancer. Let me be clear on this too: just because you follow Jesus doesn’t mean you will get cancer. But I do believe that when we decide to follow Jesus, we’re agreeing to walk INTO the storm, not away from it.

So whether you’re here tonight as a current follower of Jesus or if you’ve never even heard of Jesus before or if you’re somewhere in the middle, there are some things that you need to understand about Jesus and what He requires of those who would follow Him.

The Cost

Before we get to matt 8, I would like to put before you 2 different texts to help us set some groundwork. Read . Just a few chapters before that, Jesus says in , “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.” “If you’re going to follow me, this is what it’s going to take. Before you decide, you need to sit down and count the cost.”

Flip back over to - we’ll be here for most of our time this evening. Before we read it, I want to be honest with you - up until not too long ago, I really struggled with this chapter. Something just didn’t make sense. The chapter starts out with Jesus performing these great miracles, and then vs 19 rolls around where Jesus almost gets a little mystical with His reply to the scribe and disciple about following Him. And then the rest of the chapter talks about more miracles. So what’s the whole point? Not just about miracles, His authority over nature, mankind, and Satan. Otherwise, vs 19-22 don’t really make any sense. You want to follow Jesus? This is where it’s going to take you. Read matt 8 with that perspective in mind - imagine what it must have felt like to be a follower of Jesus at this point.

Reflect on what it must have felt like to be there with demon-possessed people, lepers, gentiles, etc. When you follow Jesus, you don’t end up on the beach. If you’re going to follow Him, you’re going to have to walk through the trenches. He calls us to follow Him onto the Battleship, not the cruise ship. By the way, this is a pretty good way of determining whether you’re actually following Jesus or not. When opportunities arise to serve and love others (especially those who aren’t in any position to pay you back in any way), how often do you do those things? Do you find yourself looking for those opportunities, or do you find yourself looking the other way? Count the cost - are you willing to pay it?

The Joy

Seeing firsthand…

God’s Power

God’s Providence

God’s Faithfulness

Seeing lepers cleansed, demon-possessed healed, etc. would have been an incredible experience. Tell of God’s power, providence, faithfulness in our lives (Axel, move to PHX, Dan)

Vs 17 - quote from - Matthew highlights all 3 in 1 vs

Weathering the Storm

This is where the sermon takes a more practical turn. Don’t need to discuss how to get into the storm - just follow Jesus, and that is where He will take you. What I would like to discuss are some practical applications that I know firsthand have helped me weather my own storm, and I hope they will be helpful to you in your storm.

Call it what it is - it’s hard, and it stinks

be honest

Not wrong to be sad, hurt, angry,

What do you do with it?

Journaling, praying, counseling

Much of the psalms are David’s journal entries

Don’t ignore it - Be sober minded

Alcohol - not the only thing that can make you drunk.

Remember God’s Faithfulness

Read . Have you ever noticed how many times God and His people reference the Exodus? Why is that?

Don’t just remember it. Be thankful for it.

; ; ; ; ; ;

I want to tell you one of my biggest fears - I worry about family/friends doubting God’s goodness if things don’t go well for me

Once again, okay to reason through and question things. But If anyone inside or outside of this building comes to that point where they truly doubt God’s goodness, then I believe that that’s a failure on my part, and good luck getting me to think otherwise.

If it comes to that, who was I being that you weren’t reminded of how faithful and loving and good God is?

But in your own storms, what are you allowing your mind to dwell on?

The good or the bad?

His promises or His inability to live up to the standard that we impose on Him?

Consider God’s faithfulness.

Don’t forsake the assembly (clarify - not just Sundays and Wednesdays)

Stay around people who feel like sunshine

Be honest with each other

Pray for others in their presence

Slow Down

“Daily bread”, “Consider the lilies…”

God never seems to be in a rush, so why are we?

Nature - Woods Canyon Lake

Keep singing

Always a reason

Let’s sing!

Closing

The first part of has become one of my favorite passages. It’s an account of David being as good as dead and God rescues him. Read . That’s a beautiful poem, isn’t it? But there’s one big problem for me: God has never done that in my life. In fact, I stand before you with “cords of death” around my throat. I feel the waves crashing into me every day, always wondering how much longer I can endure. I feel trapped. And in my distress, I have called on the LORD to answer me. I have cried to Him so many times to pull me out of the waters, so many times that I’ve lost count and, at times, almost lost hope. I have cried and cried, but there’s no answer. He has never bowed the heavens for me. He has never thundered in the heavens for me. He has never laid bare the foundations of the world for me. And so in the anguish of my soul and in the bitterness of my heart, I say “I’m happy for you, David, but what about me?” And that’s exactly what Satan wants me to do. He wants me to think about the fact that I’ve never seen God come down to this earth with thunder and lightning, and forget that I’ve seen Him come down in humility and emptiness - as a baby. He wants me to think about the fact that I’ve never seen smoke and fire come from His nostrils, but he wants me to ignore the fact that I’ve seen Him speak love and kindness to miserable, broken people who otherwise had no hope for their future just like me and you. Satan wants me to think about the fact that I’ve never seen God deliver me in anger from my enemies, all while forgetting that I’ve seen Him deliver Himself up to be nailed to a cross. He wants me to think and live and exist solely in this temporary physical reality and forget about the eternal spiritual reality in which we will spend an infinitely greater amount of time. And it’s hard - I get that. If it weren’t, everyone would do it. But when can get to a place where we can look through the storm and see beyond this world with its troubles and sorrows and pain and death, we will begin to make out the beautiful scene that awaits us. A place where there is no more cancer. A place where there is no sickness at all. A place where there are no more storms.

(Read )

Wherever you are, wherever you’ve been, or whatever lies before you, please do not forget that.

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