Storms are part of the natural weather of the Christian life. When black clouds gather, waves rise, the wind strengthens, and the light fades, our faith is tested on the stormy sea.

This may be you right now—slapped about in the middle of a storm.

Splashed, soaked, tossed, beaten, clinging with cold fingers to the boat while the violent turbulence makes us sick and our strength wanes.

When this is your experience, what can you do? How do you anchor your heart when the storm rages? How do you keep hold of hope so that you might find your way through?

It has brought me comfort to return again and again to the storm stories of the Bible. I encourage you to do the same and to keep your Bible open there for as long as this season lasts. In these passages, God gives us both comfort for our hearts and guidance for our endurance.

Comfort from the Storm Stories in the Gospels

In three of the Gospels, God inspired the record of storm stories through the Apostles (Matt. 8:23–27; 14:22–33; Mark 4:35–41; Luke 8:22–25). These accounts are a gift to us. They orient us in the raging waves and give language to our experience.

We read of an occasion when Jesus sent His disciples into a storm (Matt. 14:22–23). Sometimes storms are aroused by Satan (Job 1). Sometimes they are provoked by our sin (Jonah 1). But sometimes storms come because, in His wisdom, Jesus sends our boat straight into them.

We also discover that Jesus did not help His disciples immediately (Matt. 14:24–25; Luke 8:23). In fact, in the thrice-repeated storm stories, He was asleep. Yet at the end of every storm account, Jesus demonstrates His authority over the waves. He speaks, and they obey.

Lastly, Jesus reveals what His disciples lacked in the storm: faith. They needed greater trust in Him. Though Jesus sent them into the storm, His intent was not to destroy them. Though He slept through the storm, He was not indifferent to their struggle. Though He desired the strengthening of their faith, He did not condemn them for their fear.

Even knowing these truths, when the storm crashes over us, aren’t we just like the disciples—crying through wind and spray, “Jesus, wake up!” Or asking with trembling hearts, “Teacher, don’t you care?” (Mark 4:38).

Despite how absent God’s presence may feel in suffering, we know we have a God who never sleeps and is always with us (Ps. 121:4; Matt. 28:20). We cling to that truth—but how do we do so when we are disoriented and worn down?

Because these truths are easy to forget in the middle of suffering, God gives us practical ways to cling to them.

1. Keep Reading Your Bible

This may sound obvious, but those most battered by the storm often feel their faith fraying. When God seems distant, opening the Scriptures is itself an act of faith.

Even if your heart feels cold, your mind unfocused, or the words fall flat, open the Book. Turn the page the next morning. Read a paragraph before bed. Read the next psalm. God’s Word is “alive and powerful,” and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we have hope (Heb. 4:12; Rom. 15:4).

2. Keep Crying Out to God in Prayer

No, you may not be able to pray for all 18 of your neighbors this season—and that’s okay. Your prayers may feel broken, inarticulate, or reduced to tears.

Persevere in prayer, friend. Run to Jesus with your words and heart. Tell Him everything. Draw near (Jas. 4:8). Cry in faith. Call His name in the rain.

Pray the kind of prayers Scripture invites—honest, simple, without insecurity (Matt. 6:7; Ps. 62:8). And when you finish, thank God for this promise: that the Holy Spirit and Jesus Himself are interceding for you (Rom. 8:26–27, 34). You are not praying alone.

3. Keep Resting in Jesus’ Love for You

Remember the disciples’ question when Jesus slept in the storm: “Don’t you care?” (Mark 4:38). When relief does not come, when the body weakens under pressure, when the waves surge like an oncoming army and no “Peace, be still” is heard, another voice may whisper: God must not love you. He isn’t hearing you. How could He let this happen?

When that voice joins your suffering, look to the cross. And over the roar of the wind you can say, “That cross is proof enough to me that I am loved.”

Storms do not determine whether God loves us. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16).

Jesus—the one who first said “Peace, be still” to terrified disciples—allowed the storm of God’s wrath to fall fully upon Himself so that you would never face it. He did this so that even in your darkest days, you might know the love of God.

God loves you. He has proven it in the giving of His Son (John 3:16). Jesus loves you and has proven it in the giving of His life (1 John 3:16). And your Captain is committed to sailing with you until you reach the shores of heaven.

Find Strength in the Love of Christ

If you are storm-tossed right now, I hope this has given you a place to go in God’s Word—the storm stories. I hope you are encouraged to keep trusting the Lord by opening the Scriptures, crying out in prayer, and resting in the love he has for you.

As you do, may your heart grow strong in the confidence that nothing—not even the distress of your present suffering—can separate you from the love of Christ (Rom. 8:38–39).