http://bible.com/events/46751927

Mark 4:38

“Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

Fear, worry and anxiety are, not surprisingly, intense as we continue to face the pandemic + the Storm we could call 2020. 

​

We are told in our Bibles to be “anxious for nothing.” 

Philippians 4:6-7

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

It is possible to not be anxious. 

In the end, anxiety/worry is that nagging, tormenting feeling that you cannot fully trust God.

We worry in 2020 because perhaps we’ve never felt so out of control. But just because we’re out of control doesn’t mean God isn’t in control.

— Pam Charette

There is hope TODAY that you can be free from worry/anxiety 

1 Peter 5:6-7 

⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time, ⁷ casting all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Exemption from care (worry/anxieties) goes along with humble submission (surrender) to God.

BOTTOM LINE: Living free from worry + anxiety requires acting on our trust in Jesus.

According to God’s word you can wage war on worry by doing these 4 things:

• Proclaiming
• Praying
• Praising
• Placing

Additional scripture:

Psalm 91:1-2

Psalm 46:10

Psalm 118:17

Psalm 56:3

Isaiah 26:3

Proverbs 3:5-6

Luke 12:22-31

John 14:27

Romans 8:26-28

Romans 8:31-39

http://bible.com/events/46344332

What has the year 2020 been to you?

-“uncertain” 

-“a year of renewal and grief” 

-“a glorious burden”

-“disorienting….a blur….revealing”

-“a year of incredible growth, of stretching change….like I’m at the gym training for a marathon, \ and now God is saying its one of those Ultra-marathons.”

-“a year of new experiences and challenges that have both unified and divided our society”

-“a challenge” 

-“unprecedented”

If the events of 2020 has caused you to feel any combination of confusion, worry, fear, frustration, anger, grief, or lament, then you are not alone. The purpose of this series is to help us put into God-framed perspective the difficult year this has been. By understanding such elements as struggle, worry, healing and hope, we will connect our experience with the viewpoint and will of God.

35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.  38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” 39 He got up, rebuked  the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Mark 4:35-41

 -One of the greatest moments of crisis in the life of believers is when they buy into the lie that following Jesus means they are immune to hard things.   

–Even though some of these disciples on the boat were experienced fishermen, the storm was so great that they were afraid. 

-The question they ask Jesus is a question many of us can relate to in these days: “Don’t you care?”

-Ultimately the disciples had more faith in the power of the storm to destroy them than the power of Jesus to save them 

Questions from the Storm:

• Why did they have to endure the storm in the first place?

• Why was Jesus sleeping? 

• Why didn’t they trust Him after all they had seen?

• Why were they “terrified” after He calmed the storm?

The most important question of all comes at the very end of the story:

“Who is this?”

Is it possible that the disciples who were following Jesus 

The modern day language is really “apprenticing under Jesus”

They went where he went 

They listened to him teach 

They saw the miracles he performed 

But they still didn’t truly understand who Jesus was 

“Who is this?”

Many of do not have faith in God, but rather we have faith that God will come through for us. 

In the storm, and in the moment of uncertainty, so much of the false things we lean on are stripped away. And there is nothing left but God. 

We want Christ to hurry and calm the storm. He wants us to find him in the midst of it first.

Beth Moore

What do we do in the storm? Look to Him

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

Other Scripture for Study/Reflection:

Psalm 40

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.

Psalm 23:4 

Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you;

    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.