If you have your Bibles with you this morning, I invite you to turn to Mark's Gospel, the chapter four. We'll be looking at verses 35 to 41 this morning. And as you're turning there, I'll just mention a few things before we read God's Word this morning. As we come to this story, a story many of us may be familiar with, Jesus calming the storm, it's Jesus saving the day in many ways, and on the surface it seems like A nice little story. Jesus is the hero. He calms the storm. He saves the day. And as we get into the story further, though, this morning, we see that it really gets at some of the questions that we have in life about some of the frustrating things, some of the things we see happening in this world that we live in, this world that is broken by sin. We see questions come up like, why do bad things happen? Why do hard things happen to me? Why do I go through trying times? And when these times come upon us, where's God at? Can God be trusted? As we get into the story this morning, we see emotions of fear and doubt, worry, even anger. Come out in this story this morning. I think it has something to say To all of us even here today in the midst of wherever we wherever storms we may be facing in our lives Today and so with that said I invite you now to stand as we read God's Word Picking up at verse 35 of Mark's gospel chapter 4 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, let us go across to the other side. And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, peace, be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. He said to them, why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?" This is God's Word. Let me pray for us. Father, we thank you for your word this morning. We pray over these next few moments that you would reveal yourself to us, that you would reveal great truths to us from your word, that you would encourage us, that you would meet us wherever we find ourselves in life right now, whatever circumstances we may have going on, that you would meet us in the midst of these circumstances with your word, with the comfort of your word. And we pray all this in Christ's name. Amen. Please be seated. Why does God allow hurricanes? Why does God allow hurricanes? That was a question that was asked to me some about seven years ago now. In 2018, our family at the time was living in Rochester, Minnesota. I was serving at a PCA church there. During that time and this question. Why does God allow hurricanes was asked to me that day? By our neighbor's daughter our kids had gotten to know some of the kids in the neighborhood and they were out back playing one day and of course Sarah and I were outside talking with Their parents and their daughter came up to me and says, why does God allow hurricanes? And so it was a question that really hit home to this little girl. This was in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence hitting the Gulf Coast of Florida around the Panama City area in 2018. And so she just naturally had questions like, why does God allow hurricanes? But even further, this hurricane had affected her and her family. As some of their relatives were living in that area of Florida at the time, they had come to live with them for a couple weeks in Minnesota. And so this really hit home, this question of like, why do hurricanes happen? Why does God allow hurricanes? Really hit home to this little girl. So it was a great question. I think it was an honest question. I think it was a question that a lot of us as adults ask when life hits, when storms hit in our lives, sometimes literal physical storms, but also figuratively speaking the storms of life, when we have hard circumstances and trying times take place in our lives, like we're wondering like, what's going on here? Why is God allowing this to happen? For example, why is my job difficult? Why are my co-workers and my customers so frustrating? They frustrate us, and we're frustrated with them. Or maybe we lose our job, or it's challenging to find work, to find a job. Or maybe even in our families, we're just asking questions like, why can't my children listen to me? Why can't my children just obey and do what we're asking them to do? Why are they so disobedient? Or maybe it's things around the house. Or maybe it's our vehicles. Why do things break around our house? Why is my car not working properly? And I've got to go spend money to fix it or fix this thing in our house that's not working properly. In some ways, that's been the story of my life. car trouble and like house trouble and dealing with the the circumstances and the effects and the fallout of those things. Repairs are costly or maybe it's this we can't get along with our spouse and we're tired of arguing we're tired of fighting. And as I mentioned just a few moments ago, sometimes it's just literal storms. Last summer, when our family was arriving in Tyler around June 1st, as a lot of you know, storms hit, and in fact hit a lot of this area. And a lot of people had damage to their homes. Some people may have had to live elsewhere for a time period while their house was getting repaired. And so we ask in these moments when life doesn't go the way we planned it, When we face hard and trying times and circumstances, we're wondering, like, where's God at in all this? Does God care about us? Sometimes we even get angry with God, whether it's, like, whether it's we experience death or sickness, maybe miscarriage, abuse of some kind, whatever it might be. These are just examples of things we face in this life, in this broken and fallen world that we live in. When these storms, when these things, when these circumstances happen, often our response is fear. We're worried. Sometimes we're even angry and we doubt God's goodness. Look at the disciples in the story this morning. They're questioning Jesus. They're saying, Lord, why is this happening to us? Don't you see? Don't you see that we're perishing? Why would you let this happen? Don't you care about us? Don't you care about me? Those are the same questions that we ask God himself. And in these moments, we wonder, can God be trusted? Is God really good? And so if this is you this morning, or this has been you in the past, or will be in the future, know that you're not alone. You're not alone. These are the same questions that the disciples were asking, but also these are the same questions that Christians and non-Christians ask. When life goes astray, when life doesn't go the way we want it to, when we face hard and trying times, when we face storms in our lives, we're wondering, where's God at in all this? Can God be trusted? Is God really good? Those are some of the questions we're really asking this morning as we come to the text. And my hope and prayer is that the text provides comfort to us this morning, no matter what you're facing right now in life. And I know just even in a congregation of this size, there are things you are going through right now in your lives that are hard. There are trying times you may be facing right now. Know that there is hope even in the midst of that, and it's found right here the scripture this morning in God's Word this morning and so let's let's turn our attention to that as we look at this story of Jesus calming the storm we see that that Jesus has been teaching in the parables as the story begins these crowds that have gathered around the Sea of Galilee for some time Jesus has been ministering in this area he's been preaching this area teaching on the kingdom of God and healing he's healed many people he's he's healed a paralytic he's cast out demons but anyway evening has come he's been teaching this crowd and he's ready to go across to the other side of the sea to continue his ministry so he leaves the crowd he takes his disciples with him and they head out onto the sea and you notice Mark even says that there were other boats with them on the sea that day and so no sooner than they come and they set sail out on the sea this great windstorm comes upon them. And just to know a little bit about the area they were in, the Sea of Galilee sat some 600 feet below sea level and then to the, so they were in this bowl basin type area on the sea but then some, 30 miles away was Mount Hermon that sat some 9,000 feet above sea level. And so when the cold air came down off those mountains and mixed with that warm air rising from the sea, it produced some pretty violent and sudden storms. Still does, of course, this day there on the Sea of Galilee. And so also that great, the word great windstorm that you see there could also be translated as a hurricane. So it was hurricane type weather. It was hurricane type winds that were on the sea that day. And I can even think back Our last year in Valdosta, we lived through a hurricane, came straight through Valdosta. And it's some pretty violent winds. It's some pretty strong winds. And so this was a pretty strong storm that was on the sea that day with Jesus and his disciples. And so as this storm is starting to kick up around them, the waves are crashing into the boat. They're beginning to fill the boat with water. And the disciples are doing what? The disciples, they're a little panicked. They're starting to worry. And it's interesting and ironic that they're worried because, like, these are fishermen. Many of these guys were fishermen. These are guys that had grown up around the Sea of Galilee. They had made their living fishing. Many of their business was fishing. And so if these guys are afraid, if these guys are worried, it must be a pretty bad storm on the sea that day. And so as all this chaos is starting to come upon the disciples, the boat is filling up with water, the wind is blowing, the waves are crashing into the boat, the disciples are like, well, where's Jesus? You know, Jesus can help us. Jesus has been this guy they've spent some time with at this point in their lives. They've seen him, as I mentioned, they've seen him heal the sick, they've seen him heal a paralytic, cast out demons, and so forth. And they're like, surely Jesus can do this, Jesus can help us out. And they turn to find Jesus in verse 38, it says he's asleep. He's asleep in the stern of the boat on a cushion. And so, you know, you got to imagine the disciples in this moment, like their frustration, their aggravation, and their time of need. As this storm is howling and blowing all around them, where's Jesus? Jesus is asleep in the boat. And so the disciples, they rush to Jesus, they rush to wake him up, and they say, Lord, Teacher, do you not care? Do you not care that we are perishing? Do you not care that we are perishing? And before we beat the disciples up too much and say, you know, these silly disciples, they should know that Jesus can take care of this storm, isn't that how we often respond to Jesus? Isn't that how we often respond to Jesus when we face trying times, when we face storms in our own lives, when life isn't going our way? We accuse God. We put God on trial, so to speak. We say, Lord, why is this happening? Do you not care? Do you not care? that my health is failing? Do you not care that I've suffered great harm? Do you not care that my child doesn't care anything about the gospel, doesn't care anything about Jesus? Do you not care, Lord, that we don't have enough money, we don't have enough money to pay for whatever it is that we need to pay for, to repair this or fix that? Do you not care, Lord, when we're criticized for our work, when we're not appreciated by others, when we're not appreciated by our family or our spouse, maybe? When these things happen, we get angry sometimes, and sometimes our anger, even if we don't realize it, is directed at God when life doesn't go the way we planned it to, the way we want it to. And what's really going on with us, too, is like we want satisfaction. We want satisfaction in life. We want things to go the right way. We want things to go our way. And when we don't get satisfaction, oftentimes we get angry. Like the disciples, we question, Lord, do you not care? Do you not care if we drown? And so the sudden nature of this question reveals their frustration, maybe even their anger at Jesus. Because it appears that Jesus doesn't care about them. Jesus is in the boat. He's asleep. The storm is raging all around them. And where is Jesus? Jesus is asleep. They need Jesus, and he's asleep. And so when the disciples are failing to see what we fail to see, when life doesn't go the way we planned it to, when life seems out of control, when the waves of life continue to crash into the boat, so to speak, and hit us time after time, wave after wave, again and again, we forget that God is with us. Because where is Jesus at in this story? He's in the boat, right? He's not over on the shore saying, hey guys, I'm going to sit this one out today and y'all take care of this storm. No, Jesus is in the boat. He's present with his disciples. He might be asleep in the boat, but he's present with his disciples, and he's with us in the midst of trying times as well. Jesus is present with us in the midst of trying times. I think about a story I read one time about soldiers The items that they would carry with them as they go into war. It might be a girlfriend's picture or a picture of their family. It might be a Bible. It might be a wedding or an engagement ring. But they carry these items with them to be present with them as they face death and destruction, brokenness on a daily basis in the midst of war. These items bring comfort and hope to them. They are present with them as they go through the ups and downs of war. And that's what we see Jesus doing this morning, too. He is present. He is with his disciples. He's with his disciples in the good. He's with them in the bad. He's with us in the good. He's with us in the bad. Jesus is present with us. He has not abandoned us. Sometimes it may feel like Jesus is not there. Sometimes it may feel like God is not there. It may feel like he's abandoned us. But Jesus is present with us as we go through trying times. And so we see he responds. Not only is he present with his disciples, but he responds to their panic. He responds to their worry. And he calms the storm. Verse 39, it says, he rebuked the wind. In other words, he brought it into submission. He brought it into submission to his authority and says, peace to the sea. He says, peace. still." Basically he muzzled the storm. The form of that verb indicates that peace be still, that the condition shall remain in effect and not change. It shall persist and remain in effect. And so as immediately as Jesus speaks to the storm, as he speaks to the sea, the wind stops blowing, the storm stops raging, the waves stop crashing into the boat. and the water is completely calm, it's still, it's as smooth as glass, so to speak. And so just as quickly as the storm appeared, just as quickly did the storm disappear. And so as the disciples see this take place, like one minute they're in the storm, the next minute it's calm, Jesus speaks to the storm and everything is calm, these disciples are wondering like, what's going on here? What's going on? And what's going on is creation is responding to its master. Jesus is conforming creation to his direction much like God in the beginning brought order out of chaos in Genesis 1. The wind and the waves are recognizing the voice of their master and so Jesus in his greatness and his power has calmed the storm. And it's even in contrast to this day, Palm Sunday, that we remember when Jesus was humble and rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, which is a very humble way to ride in. But in this way, Jesus, as you see in the storm this morning, he is Jesus in his power and in his glory, calming the storm, speaking to the sea, saving the disciples from the storm. He's doing what only God can do. this encounter. Psalm 107. tells the story of a storm coming upon a group of sailors on the sea. They cry out to God, much like the disciples cried out to Jesus in Mark 4. These sailors, they cried out to God, and what did God do? God hushed the storm. He calmed the storm, and that's what Jesus does. Jesus calms the storm. He's revealing more and more of who he is in this encounter. He's revealing that he is God, that he is God come in the flesh. that as God come in the flesh, he has power over all of creation. That's what we see Jesus doing this morning. He has power over all of creation. And what that means for us as we face storms, as we face the storms of life, we know that Jesus has the power. Jesus has the power to quiet our troubles. And that means that we can turn to him, we can run to him, and we can cry out to him. We can pray to him and go to him with our needs and he hears us. He hears everything and he knows everything. And he provides all the healing, he provides all the rest that we need as we go through life, as we face storms in this life. But what about, even though we know Jesus has the power, what happens when life doesn't change, when our circumstances don't change? Does it mean that God doesn't care? And I think we can say that we know in these moments, as we think about elsewhere in Scripture, God uses these moments, he uses these trying times, he uses these to increase our faith, to increase our reliance upon him. In other words, suffering is a way for us to glorify God. And we think, you know, like, I want to glorify God, but there's got to be another way, right? There's got to be another way. to glorify you, Lord, right? Does it really have to be this hard? Does it have to be losing my job, or sustaining damage to our home, or whatever it is you may be facing in life right now, does it have to be this hard? And this is what Peter says in 1 Peter 1, he says, you have been grieved by various trials so that the tested genuineness of your faith More precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." May result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. And we hear that and we say, you know, that's easy for you to say, Peter, you were a disciple, you lived with Jesus, you spent about three years of your life with Jesus on this earth. You had it all figured out, Peter, right? No, Peter didn't have it figured out. Remember, Peter was the disciple that oftentimes just kind of spoke his mind and said what was on his tongue at the moment, and it got him into trouble sometimes. Peter might have been the one that was being very vocal that day on the storm, saying, Lord, do you not care? Do you not care about us? And of course, we know Peter's story. He later denied Jesus when Jesus was arrested. He was later restored, of course, and became a leader in the early church, but he also faced trials in the book of Acts. You see Peter put into prison, but you see Peter also rescued. The Lord was with Peter in the midst of those trying times, and of course he was later put to death at the hands of Nero, the Roman emperor. And so Peter was a man who had faced trials, and he could say this with confidence that the Lord used those times in his life to increase his faith, to increase his reliance upon the Lord, and he does the same thing for us. God does the same thing for us. When we face trying times, when we face storms, God works in those moments. It may seem like he's not, but he's using those moments to teach us more about who he is, to teach more about his faithfulness, his goodness, his mercy, his protection, his provision. But then the question still arises, what about when the storms don't stop? What about when life keeps hitting us like those waves continue to hit the disciples again and again in the boat? How do we respond? How do we respond when life continues to hit us time after time and again and again? I think about the story of Tommy Dorsey. Tommy Dorsey was a gospel blues musician, lived in the 20th century some hundred years ago, and at the age of 33, He was in Chicago playing a revival, and his wife was back home in St. Louis, and she gave birth to their newborn child. And he received news of this, but he also received that in the process of giving birth, his wife had passed away. And so it's very hard, very sad news for Dorsey to hear as he's away from home, as he's in Chicago, his wife is back home and gives birth and then dies in the process of giving birth. And so, but not only that, just a few hours later, that was tough enough, a few hours later, he got news that their newborn child had also passed away just a couple of hours after birth. And so these were sad, this was sad news for Dorsey to receive. These were hard times, these were trying times for him. It's not the news anyone ever wants to receive. And so when we hear news like this, or we experience trying times in our life, hard times, sad times, What do we do with news like this? With circumstances like this? Do we get angry? Do we give up? Do we get down? Do we get depressed? This is what Dorsey did. Dorsey responded with a song. And I'm sure he felt a lot of emotions. I'm sure he was sad and many other emotions. But this is what he did. This is what we know he did. He responded with a song. He wrote, Precious Lord, Take My Hand. one of the more well-known songs in the African-American gospel tradition. And in that song, Dorsey wrote, Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, let me stand. I am tired, I am weak, I am worn. Through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light. Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home. Lead me home. This is a picture of faith. Dorsey's words, even in the midst of trying times, even in the midst of sadness, severe sadness. He lost his wife and his child in the same day. He's turning to the Lord. He's asking, Lord, see me through the storm. See me through the night. Lead me home. It's a picture of faith. It's the picture of trusting God in the midst of the storm. And so how do we respond when the storms of life keep hitting us? We're to trust God. God, we're to trust God. We don't always understand why these things happen to us, but we know if Jesus is God and he's willing to die on our behalf, then he's good enough and great enough to have reasons for the storms and the trials and the hard times we face in life. Even when we cannot understand it, God is there with us. In fact, in my own life, I don't always know all the reasons for the hard things that have happened to me. For example, our family, we've suffered two miscarriages very early on in pregnancy. And those were hard times. Those were sad times. Those were trying times. A lot of questions. Just wondering, like, what's going on here, Lord? You know theologically in your head why this happens. The world is broken. It doesn't work the way it's supposed to. But practically, in the day-to-day, it's hard. It's hard. But at the end of the day, this is what I know, this is what we know, that God is God and we are not. And we can trust his reasons are for our own good. Even when we don't understand it, we can trust that God has a purpose in the midst of our circumstances, in the midst of our in trying times. It doesn't excuse our pain. It doesn't deny the pain we feel. Our pain is real. But even in the midst of that, Jesus is greater. Jesus himself is greater than any pain that we face in this life, because he was willing to die so that we might have peace and forgiveness and reconciliation with God himself. That's what Jesus was willing to do for us. And so we see that Jesus has the power. He has the power to quiet our troubles. And so he does that. He calms the storm for the disciples. And you would think, as we turn back to the story, that everything's OK. that everyone lived happily ever after. Jesus, the hero, has saved the day. But then Mark, at the end of this story, ends with kind of a cliffhanger, like the conflict has been presented, the conflict has been resolved, Jesus, the hero, has saved the day, and you would think everyone lived happily ever after. But no, Mark leaves us with this in verses 40 and 41. Jesus questions them after he's calmed the storm. He says, why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? In other words, he's saying, guys, do you not trust me? Do you not trust that my saving power is with you in the boat? Do you not see who I am? But we can, I think, ask ourselves that same question. Do we not trust Jesus when we're in the midst of hardship and pain and disappointment? Because I think it's easy for us to know, as we see this morning, that Jesus is present with us. We know that. We believe that. We know what the Bible says. We know he has the power to quiet our troubles. The disciples knew this. They had seen Jesus. They had witnessed him calm the storm. Yet they still don't believe. And we don't always believe either, right? We don't always trust God himself in the midst of trying times. Because I think that's the real challenge. We have the head knowledge, we know what the Bible says, we have good and sound theology, but in the practical day-to-day, we struggle to believe, to trust the Lord. It's like, Lord, I believe, but help me in my unbelief. That's often how we find ourselves in the midst of these times in our lives. And so the question to ask us is, where are we finding comfort? Where are we finding comfort in trying times when life is hard? Oftentimes, it's anything but God. It may be that we turn to entertainment. It may be that we turn to another person or something else in this life. We turn to something else to bring relief. And Jesus is saying, turn to me and trust me. I will see you through the storm. Trust that my saving power is with you in the boat. And that's what he's saying to his disciples, yet they're filled with great fear in verse 41. And they say, who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? Who is this guy? That's what the disciples are trying to figure out. You would think they would be relieved, excited, comforted, Jesus has saved the day, and yet the irony is their fear increases after Jesus calms the storm. It doesn't make sense, right? And what's happening is God's nearness the disciples, they're beginning to see the presence of God himself in Jesus, and they don't know what to make of it because it's terrifying. They would prefer God to be predictable and manageable, and that's how we often think about God, we'd prefer him to be manageable and predictable and do things the way we want him to, but he doesn't work like that, right? And so it's hard for us just as well. And so why though are the disciples afraid? Again, why don't we trust God? Oftentimes we don't trust God just because of our hearts, our sinful hearts. We trust in ourselves saying, I can bring change to my circumstances. We don't trust God because we realize that he's in control and we don't have control and that frustrates us, makes us frustrated. And so the question we're left with is like, what does God have to do for us? What does God have to do for us in order for us to trust him and know that he is good when life hits, when the storms of life hit, when our circumstances are hard, when our circumstances are sad, When we're confused, when we're afraid, what does God have to do for us to trust him? Because often we're angry and we're wondering, Lord, why are these things happening? Lord, why don't you intervene? Why don't you stop the storm? Why don't you stop the storm like you did that day on the Sea of Galilee? That's the question we oftentimes are asking God in our frustration, in our fear, in our worry and doubt. We're saying, Lord, why don't you stop the storm? Why don't you stop the storm like you did that day on the Sea of Galilee? And what we forget is that God has stopped the storm. It's just not the storm that we're typically thinking about. Because as we think about the story of Jesus calming the storm on the sea, it closely resembles another story about a group of men in a storm in the sea in the Old Testament. I'm thinking about the book of Jonah, the prophet Jonah, who was sent to Nineveh. Before getting to Nineveh, where does Jonah find himself? He's in a storm on the sea, and he's surrounded by men who are afraid and think they're about to die, and that's what Jesus finds himself in in this story as well. Both Jesus and Jonah find themselves asleep in a boat on the sea in the midst of a storm, and they're awoken by men who think they're about to die. And they're worried, they're confused, they're afraid. And in both stories, what happens? save the day. Supernatural intervention took place and of course in both stories that calmed the storm. And of course in the story of Jonah, Jonah himself was hurled into the water and the storm stopped. And so the only difference is that Jesus himself was not thrown into the sea, or was he? Was Jesus himself thrown into the sea? Because if we think about elsewhere in the Gospels, in Matthew chapter 12, Jesus says, something greater than Jonah is here today. And of course Jesus was referring to himself. Jesus was saying he was the greater Jonah. And so how can we say that Jesus was thrown into the sea? Well he was thrown into the sea because he was the one who would willingly be hurled into the violence than the storm at the cross. That's how we can say Jesus was thrown into the sea, where he suffered on the cross, where he voluntarily suffered for our sins. So Jesus has stopped the storm. He stopped the storm, though, of God's wrath. That's the storm we forget. Jesus has stopped the storm of God's wrath. And so we know God is good. We know, even in the midst of trying times, even in the midst of hard days and sad times, When we're confused, when we're afraid, when we're doubting and wondering, Lord, where are you? Are you good? We know God is good because of Jesus. We know God is good because of the cross. And one day, and through the cross, Jesus brings, for all those who trust and rest in him, God brings forgiveness and reconciliation with himself through Jesus for all those who put their faith and trust in Christ. And so one day, When Christ returns to this earth, we believe Christ will return to this earth. He will do away with all sin and death and brokenness. He will calm all the storms. He will calm all the hurts. He will calm all the sorrows and the disappointments we face in life. And on that day, he will free God's world of sin and death forever. There'll be no more storms, no more storms that kill people. There'll be no more miscarriages, no more abuse, no more suffering and sickness. And whatever it is you're facing right now, or whatever it is you will face down the road, there'll be no more of that on that day when Christ returns to this earth. And on that day, makes all things new. Because that's what we believe the gospel says. On that day, Jesus will make things new. He will free God's world of sin and death forever. Now this doesn't make life easier in the moment. We will face sorrow, we will face pain, we will face disappointment, but even in the midst of that sorrow, even in the midst of that pain, what do we know? Jesus is with us. He's with us in the boat. And it brings us confidence. It brings us comfort to know that Jesus himself, Jesus, didn't abandon us in that most awful storm he faced on the cross. And so, therefore, he will not abandon us in these much smaller storms we face in our lives. Jesus will not abandon us. He's with us in the boat because he didn't abandon us in that most awful of storms he faced when he was separated from his father that he had known for all eternity. He was separated from his father on the cross. Jesus didn't abandon us in that moment. He will not abandon us in these other moments that we face in our lives today. And so as we are getting to know you all as a church, and I know some of you, but I don't know all of you. I don't know what storms you're facing right now. I don't know what you have faced in the past or will in the future, but I know that Jesus is with us. He's with us, He's good, and He's in the boat with us. And it brings us confidence. It brings us comfort to know that he will not abandon us. Jesus will not abandon us because he did not abandon us at the cross. Let me pray for us. Father, we thank you for your word this morning. We thank you for the comfort it brings. We pray, Lord, that you would meet us in the midst of storms that we face. that you are our shield, you are our protector, and you will see us through, you will sustain us. And so Lord, help us, enable us to turn to you, to rest in you, to know not only of the forgiveness and the peace and reconciliation we have through Christ, but also to know that you are with us, that you are with us in the midst of hard times. And so I pray for this congregation, for those that are in the midst of hard times, that you would meet them in the midst of these circumstances. They would know your goodness and your love and your mercy, that you would sustain them and see them through the storm. that you would bless us this morning, even as we now continue to worship you. We thank you for your grace and your mercy. We pray all these things in Christ's name. Amen.