There are few things more impressive than a major thunderstorm. Standing in the sunlight, looking to the west, you can see the clouds billowing high into the sky. Ominously, the sky begins to darken, birds grow still, then there is that first gust of wind which is the signal to seek shelter. A few moments later, trees are bending, lightning is flashing, and the crash of thunder shakes the earth. Sometimes such storm leave a swath of destruction, broken trees, downed power lines; which takes days, if not weeks, to clean up. And yet, after each storm a new normal returns, the broken restored or replaced.
There are moments in life like that. The sun shines! All is well! Then a moment comes that makes everything pause. Your soul senses a storm is on the horizon. Emotional clouds roll in. The first little puffs of troubling winds start to blow, and you can only think: what will be left standing when the storms blows by? What will be shaken? The comes the fury. All is tossed into disarray, plans aborted, the future rearranged. But, just like with a thunderstorm, our inner lives find a new normal, too. We put the pieces back together, a little wiser, a lot more cautious, and hopefully - deeper in faith.
Disciple, we all experience life’s storms; however, in the middle of the storm, there is One who walks alongside of us Who is bigger than the storm. Mark tells a ‘storm story!’ It’s written to inspire our faith. Take a look.
"That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.
A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”" (Mark 4:35-40, NIV)
Jesus wanted to know why they were such cowards! “Why are you so ready to despair?” He asked. “Haven’t you seen a storm before? Don’t you know Who you’re with?”
If a storm is brewing on the horizon, or even if you’re enduring the height of it with crashing thunder and terrible winds all around, take courage! The summary that Mark reports in his story, which most likely he heard from Peter, is this: "They were in absolute awe, staggered. “Who is this, anyway?” they asked. “Wind and sea at his beck and call!” (Mark 4:41, The Message) Our Lord is Master of the storms. He can command the winds to cease, or He can help us to stand while they blow.
We cannot ask an exemption from life or the storms, we cannot run to some place where we imagine no storms can reach us. We can stand fearlessly! Here’s a word from the Word for those of us facing a storm:
"Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you’ve got, be resolute, and love without stopping." (1 Corinthians 16:13-14, The Message)
"Because we are the sons of God, we must become the sons of God!" - George MacDonald
______________
No comments:
Post a Comment