Storms in the Forecast

"'Don't be afraid,'He said. 'Take courage. I am here!'" Matthew 14:27 Storms. It's the season for them. As I sit in my "sewing" room, which performs multiple duties, the weather is dark with storms headed this way. After our experience with Joplin 2 years ago, people in Missouri tend to take storms more seriously. I know I do. When my oldest grandson was a toddler, I remember standing in the middle of our street, holding him, trying to see tornados that were passing north of town. Even the night of the Joplin storm, I was at my moms and we didn't run and cover. But since I went to see what a tornado can do, I'm taking warnings much more seriously. The devastation was unbelievable. Storms in our lives can leave devastation as well. So much so that a storm can become a complete life changer. Max Lucado devotes Chapter 6 of his book "Fearless" to the storms we encounter in life. Because one thing is true. There WILL be storms in our lives. No doubt. The lesson is in how to handle them, not avoid them. Storms take on many faces. A divorce, no promotion at work, unexpected pregnancy, not getting pregnant, didn't get the job we absolutely deserved, illness or illness of another, unexpected or even expected death of a friend or loved one, financial problems, unemployment. You can fill in the blank. So many different types of life experiences that can be storms in our lives. Sometimes during these storms it's raining so hard you can't even see with the wipers going full force. You know what I mean. Think of your latest storm. Hard to do, isn't it? Storms, if they are real storms and not just inconveniences, are painful to recall. Lucado points out the perfect story God gave us in regard to our storms in life. In Matthew 14, we have the story of the disciples facing a storm in the boat. This was not the first time. Another storm found Jesus sleeping peacefully in the boat as the storm raged. This time, He's not even in the boat with them. The wind is blowing, and those in the boat see a figure walking toward them on the water: Matthew 14:26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. Uh, yeah....... I am certain I would be crying out in fear also. They thought it was a ghost. Now keep in mind. The disciples had seen Jesus do a number of miracles by this time. He had just finished feeding the multitude with 5 loaves. So miracles aren't completely out of the question here. But the disciples cried out anyway, scared to death. Max Lucado makes a terrific point here. He points to the fact that the disciples didn't EXPECT Jesus to come to them by walking on the water. Not this way. Neither do we. In the midst of one of those storms we mentioned above, we don't expect Jesus to show up then. We feel it during hymns or praise and worship music. We feel it during ardent prayer. We even feel it during one of those perfect moments in life that only He can orchestrate. But in the middle of the pain? Palpable pain you can almost touch? Pain so deep we're not sure we're going to survive it? Lucado says it this way: "We never expect to see Him in a storm. But it is in storms that He does his finest work, for it is in storms that He has our keenest attention." I must admit I don't do a great job during storms in my life. Well, I do better now since God knocked me to my knees in the midst of one, but that's another story. I have watched others rely on Him during storms though. Storms that would have destroyed me. Angered me. Made me bitter. You've seen it too. That Christian that can stand on the Word and let Him shine! That, although crushed, relies on faith to come out at the other end in one piece. It's when God loves to show off the most. When a situation is so terrible that it MUST be God's power to get a person through it because absolutely nothing else and noONE else could accomplish this. The faith demonstrated here is the kind of faith I want next time. Giving Him glory. Letting Him have the credit. But lots of times we are like the disciples. We completely forget all the miracles He has done for us before. It's like we have spiritual amnesia. All of a sudden we draw a blank about the relationship He repaired. The comfort He gave us. The salvation of someone we had almost given up on. And when we do that.....when I do that......we end up having to learn lessons all over again. We're like in spiritual remedial classes. Flunked out and have to redo it all over again. I have recently felt a storm coming on. So I need all of the Word I can get. I'm going to end today's post with the scriptures Lucado quoted to remind us that He is here in the midst of it. If just one of you grabs one of these verses with me and holds onto it that's enough for me. There is so much more in his book about this topic, and so much more to learn, that the next post is going to finish chapter 6. Too good to pass up. Hope your forecast doesn't call for storms! "The Lord is near." Philippians 4:5 "You are in me, and I am in you." John 14:20 "I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:20 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." John 10:28 Nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow -- not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love." Romans 8:38