<div>Hello everyone,</div>
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<div>Being caught off guard by bad news, or sudden trouble can certainly knock the wind out our sails. The truth is, we don’t have to stand in unbelief, feeling bewildered and speechless. The moment we realise that we are locked up in Jesus, we will find our voice and speak words that are weighty with the authority He has given us, to turn that storm around!</div>
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<div>In this series Rebuke the Wind, we see how the disciples were completely caught off guard by a ferociously dangerous wind that suddenly came up on them in the dark one night. They were on a boat with Jesus, on the Sea of Galilee, and this mighty wind of hurricane proportions, picked up the waves and violently beat them against the boat, terrifying the men as their boat began to sink.</div>
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<div>After desperately trying to fight the storm and keep themselves afloat, the men realised their efforts were hopeless. As they shook Jesus awake, you can hear the urgency and confusion in their words.</div>
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<div>How could it be that after all they had done for Him, after all they had given up for Him, He would let them face this impossible storm alone, asleep in the corner, leaving them to drown? Didn’t He say He loved them? Don’t He even care about what they were going through, or what would happen to them?</div>
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<div>Doesn’t that sound familiar? When we are faced with sudden trouble and it looks like it’s impossible to get through victoriously, what do we hear ourselves murmuring in the heat of it all? “Lord, what’s going on? Don’t you love me? Didn’t you say You would take care of me? Did I give up everything to follow You for this? Are You abandoning me?”</div>
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<div>Well, the disciples were feeling completely abandoned at this point of the story, and interestingly enough, we read three different accounts of it in the Gospels.</div>
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<div>I have to tell you, after hearing Greek scholar, Rick Renner, mention how Matthew, Mark, and Luke give an account of this story, and each address Jesus at that precise time of panicked terror, by a different name – I had to find out more!</div>
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<div>Without making a doctrine out of this, I really think it’s worth talking about.</div>
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<div>In <strong>Matthew 8:25 (NKJ)</strong>, the disciples urgently wake Jesus up, calling Him ‘Lord’. Now often enough, when we address Jesus as ‘Lord’ we do so with an inner confidence, knowing He is in complete control of the situation. When we are thrust into a terrible circumstance, where we are taken by surprise and reach out to the Lord for help, we usually call Him ‘Lord’, knowing and trusting that He is well able, and willing to save us.</div>
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<div>Then, in <strong>Mark 4:38 (NKJ)</strong>, it’s recorded that Jesus is woken up by the panicked disciples, and addressed as ‘Teacher’. When the situation we are thrust into doesn’t immediately get better, we seem to become a little more anxious in our appeal, and begin to wonder if the reason we aren’t seeing results is because God wants to teach us something through our living nightmare.</div>
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<div>I want to pause here and take a moment to clarify what God’s Word says about this particular kind of thought pattern.</div>
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<div>The Bible clearly teaches that in the New Covenant we have in Christ, we can be assured that God is never the source, nor is He the author of any calamity or problems we encounter in this life. He does not bring bad things into our lives to teach us lessons. That is simply not His nature, and the New Testament is filled with scripture to confirm this.</div>
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<div>Even If we got into the mess because of a mistake, or wrong choice we made, we can still call on His Name in our time of trouble, and He will give us the wisdom, strength, and power to overcome.</div>
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<div>After we are out of the mess, and in a safe place of victory, we can certainly expect the Holy Spirit to reveal any lessons we needed to learn through that experience, and we will gain experiential wisdom from it.</div>
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<div>So it’s important for us to understand that even though God is never the cause of our calamity, He has promised to never leave or abandon us while we face it, or go through it. When we turn to Him, He will always teach us how to lean on Him, rely and learn from Him so we can walk through that experience into victory.</div>
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<div><strong>Romans 8:28</strong> says He causes all things to work together for our good. So don’t for one moment allow yourself to think God brought trouble on you to teach you a life lesson.</div>
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<div>Now, let’s take a look at how the Gospel of Luke records the way the disciples addressed Jesus in the storm. In <strong>Luke 8:24 (NKJ)</strong>, the distraught disciples woke Jesus up, addressing Him as ‘Master’.</div>
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<div>Here we see no confident pause, or time for reflection. Here there is pure desperation, where they are calling on their Master to command action! The Greek translation for the word ‘master’ is a compound word that translates to the words ‘stand’ and ‘upon’. More than anything, the disciples needed Jesus to stand up, on the spot and deliver them.</div>
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<div>And that’s exactly what Jesus did, it’s also exactly what He will do for you, when you need His intervention. In the next letter, we’re going to take a look at how Jesus responded and acted in the heat of their crisis, and how we can learn from His example.</div>
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<div>Until then, know no matter what you will face in this life, you belong to a Heavenly Father Who loves and cares for you dearly, and is waiting for you to call on His divine assistance. He will show you how you can take authority over the wind and waves, and reach your destination safely.</div>
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<div>All my love,</div>
<div style=”font: 400 24px/0.8 ‘Great Vibes’, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #b1b1ff”>Jenny</div>