“Fate whispers to the warrior, ‘You cannot withstand the storm.’ The warrior whispers back, ‘I am the storm.’”
Those chilling lines hung like icicles under one of Tom Brady’s most recent Instagram pictures—dripping with the crystal clear, impending message to his followers and foes about his warrior-like, ice-in-veins mentality going into the NFL playoffs. And if you’ve tuned in to any games so far—we can all agree—he has not under delivered one bit.
While the source of the quote above is unknown, it resonates deeply with some pretty profound biblical truths—truths that don’t simply apply to the grand stages of national broadcast, but truths that apply to all of life’s stages and seasons.
The quote particularly invokes the story where Jesus calms a great storm, found in passages Mt. 8:23-27 and Mk. 4:35-41. Let’s take a look at the passage in Mark 4, pull out some principles, see how it relates to Brady’s chilling caption, and understand why it speaks so profoundly into our current situation. Here’s the text:
37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 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?” 39 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. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 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 short passage spotlights two forces at odds: a storm and a warrior. This episode between the storm and Jesus can be broken down into 3 stages, each stage revealing something profound about this Warrior.
The Warrior of Peace
First, the scene opens with a great windstorm—one so strong that the waves were literally pulling the entire boat—and all its disciples on board—underwater. The storm raged violently, and the disciples struggled helplessly in the conditions they could not control. I’m sure many of us can recall or point to a storm in our lives as well—where circumstances have seemed so great that we felt helplessly tossed in conditions we could not control. Where our security and happiness felt so hopelessly lost that we wondered if we’d ever get back on our own feet again.
During this chaotic storm, however, Jesus is astoundingly asleep—apparently unaware of the life-threatening storm the disciples are struggling through. Have any of you felt like that, too? As if God is sleeping in the middle of your greatest storm?
The disciples clamored and hollered at Jesus, waking him up and alerting him of their dire situation, like so many of us seem to do when we too are encountering our own storms in life. Jesus, however, wakes up from his deep REM sleep, walks up to the boat’s splintered deck, and shuts up the storm’s chaos with a simple command.
Why on earth was Jesus asleep? How on earth was Jesus asleep? I think the point is to create a contrasting effect between the storm and the warrior. The text seems to communicate that, compared to this great Warrior, the storm’s power is so weak it can’t even stir his light sleep and so feeble that it instantly flattens at his simple word.
It’s not to show that Jesus is asleep or unaware of your life’s storms. It’s to show how much more powerful He is than your storm. It’s to reveal that He is so at peace and so in control that your storm doesn’t bother his sovereignty one bit. And if it doesn’t faze him, then we can finally have peace in our storms with him.
The Warrior of Power
The story continues: after Jesus commands the storms to be still, there is a great calm. Imagine the immediate switch from chaos to calmness, from violence to stillness, from a category-4 Caribbean hurricane to a 5-star Caribbean resort—in a split second.
Not only must it have been an incredible sight, it’s also an extremely desirable outcome. It’s likely that a majority of you reading this are going through something where you wish God would still the storms in your life—right now. He can. Sometimes He does. And sometimes it’s a matter of timing.
But God ultimately works in people’s lives differently. Lovingly, He may come into your boat, and point out at the wind and the waves and say, “Peace! Be still!” quieting and calming the turbulence of your situation. And in doing so, He brings you into better circumstances.
But to others, God may not do that. Instead, He may lovingly come into your boat, and not point out at the wind and the waves, but point back at you instead and say, “Peace! Be still!” quieting and calming the turbulence in your own heart. And in doing so, He makes you better in your circumstances.
Both acts of Jesus are grace, and both acts of Jesus have purposes beyond our limited wisdom. However, while both responses have their relative pros and cons, they nevertheless beg the same, common question, “But why? If Jesus is so great and loving, why does he allow them to happen anyways?”
The Warrior of Provision
It’s because sometimes we need a great storm in order to have the chance of ever seeing an even greater warrior. The truth is, the greatness of the warrior can’t be seen until there’s a great storm.
Let’s refer back to Tom Brady for a second. We would never truly know the greatness of Tom Brady if he never faced incredible odds. But we’ve seen Tom Brady confronted with double-digit 4th quarter deficits time and time again—and we’ve seen him somehow accomplish victory over incredible odds time and time again. He has faced odds never seen before—such as being down 28-3 in the Super Bowl—and in the process, claimed a victory never seen before. The greater the deficit, the greater the opportunity to show his true greatness as a quarterback. We would never truly know the greatness of Tom Brady if he never faced incredible odds.
And likewise, we will never truly know the greatness of Jesus until we are confronted with a situation in our lives that require his greatness to come through for us. The greater the odds of your opposition, the greater the opportunity for the greatness of Jesus to shine in your life. The Bible is chalk full of these situations, too.
The Red Sea was a great barrier, but it was necessary to show the greatness of God even more.
The wall of Jericho was a great barrier, but they were necessary to show the greatness of God even more.
The cross of Christ was a great barrier, but it was necessary to show the greatness of God’s salvation even more.
And this storm was a great opponent, but it was necessary to show the greatness of God even more.
The passage of Mark 4 is full of ‘greats’. Go look at it again. There’s a great windstorm, a great calm, and a great fear. The emphasis is clear: these great oppositions necessarily show the greatness of Jesus.
And maybe more fascinating than anything else in this text is that the disciples were filled with a great fear (v.41)—not during the storm, but after the storm. They experienced fear when the storm raged; but they experienced a great fear after the storm calmed. Why?
Because after they had witnessed Jesus calming the storm, they realized they had encountered something—Someone—even greater and more powerful than their storm: The God-man whose simple whisper makes great storms whimper. If anyone could provide for them in their darkest hour and fiercest storm, it was Jesus, the Lord of all circumstances in heaven and earth.
I AM The Storm
What are you going through right now? The principle of this story is clear: your great opposition is not a delineation of God’s will; it is a great invitation to trust an even greater God to accomplish wonderful things.
In light of this passage, we can look confidently at our burdens and shrug them off our shoulders because our burdens are on Someone’s shoulders who is much stronger than we are.
Whatever you’re going through, there is a storm greater than the one you’re facing now, and his name is Jesus Christ. He is the sovereign storm over heaven and earth to whom every storm in your life humbly yields and submits.
Your circumstances may whisper, “You cannot withstand the storm.” But you can confidently whisper back, “I AM the storm.”
