He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.”... and a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.' Mark 4:35-49
In Mark 4, we find Jesus at a conference where He was asked to Keynote on the topic of sowing. After ministering to thousands, He and His staff board a two-deck yacht, in route for Gadarenes, where they encounter a hurricane. Oftentimes, when we hear this story, we focus on Jesus being able to sleep through the hurricane, speak to storm, and make it to the other side. But where was He going? What or who was so important, that He ignored a category 5 wind advisory? When I thought about that, I realized He went through a storm for the man in the tombs. Let me say that again. HE went through a STORM – FOR – the man in the tombs.
Your Storm is For Someone Else
When Jesus told the disciples, ‘Let us cross over to the other side”, you could assume that He was scheduled to keynote at another conference, in some 20,000-seat venue. But He wasn’t. The Lord had one person on His itinerary. One unlikely, unpopular individual and that was the man at the tombs. “Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man…’ (Mark 5:1,2) The man at the tombs was technically, an unsheltered man, which would also technically make him homeless. That means Jesus went through a category 5 storm for a mentally ill homeless man. When I saw that, it so touched me because it helped make sense of my journey. You see, I’ve moved over 50 times and have been homeless more times than I’d like to count. Because of my journey, I’ve recently written a book entitled, ‘The Do-it-Yourself Guide out of Homelessness’. In it, I share the story of my struggle with promiscuity, instability and mental illness while transparently sharing what I did to fight to regain both my sanity and financial strength. At first, I didn’t understand why I had to write a book FOR the homeless. I mean, there’s no money in that. But it wasn’t until after I started writing, that I realized why I had to. I have to reach that one and I had to go through the storm of homelessness in order to get to those who are in the tombs of it now. And so do you.
Facing Your Why
The storm you’re facing now isn’t just about you. It’s for that one person, who like the man at the tombs, has been at the grave site of their situation for far too long. That one person whose circumstances are far worse than yours. They’re waiting on you. They need you to make it through your storm so that they can get through theirs. So, don’t you dare feel sorry for yourself. There are people in the tombs of wrongful convictions, addictions, sickness, and homelessness that need your product, service, and testimony. So, don’t you give up. Hurry up and get through your go through so that you can help others get through too.
Pray this with me: Heavenly Father, I don’t know if I can make it to the other side of this storm. But Lord I ask You for peace in my mind, body, and home. Give me the grace to make it through and when this storm is over, Lord, I will do what I need to do to ensure that I help one person make it through theirs. In Jesus’ name.
Hey there Storm Conqueror!
Here's a great way for you to help one homeless person make it through the
storm of homelessness! My goal is to distribute 100 ‘Do-It-Yourself Guides' to different homeless shelters this year. Here's how you can help!
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