The Storms of Life

I went to bed Friday night knowing that today and tomorrow would be challenging to the soul, hour by hour. Harvey has been knocking on my back door for about twelve hours and everyone forecasting the weather has no idea what is going to become of this historical storm, except it’s going to die a hard death some time next week. The storm is south-east of where I live and is producing big wind, but little rain with the promise of a lot more. Being on the west side of the storm is always best, but in the Houston area, the east side of the storm, where my brother lives, is getting super high wind and drowned in rain. The immediate forecast for our area is that it will remain a strong tropical storm, turn west, and come right over the top of where I live, which could produce a very interesting night and first-day-of-the-week scenario to deal with. At the moment, all we can do is wait and see what will happen as the storm is beginning to march right at us.

[Psalm 107] “...Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.” We all face many storms in our life – some strong and severe, while others are viewed as just a little bump in the road. Nobody’s life is a bed of roses nor is it without pain and sorrow. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he reminds them, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ...Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God ...if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. ...And the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:4-9). Likewise he wrote to the church in Ephesus, “...always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:15-21). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told the story of the wise and foolish builders. He took the example of real life and applied it to man’s spiritual well-being. Building a house on a foundation of sand will not stand when the storms of life beat upon it, but a house build on a rock foundation can stand strong against the winds and tumult the world can throw against it. When we rely only on our self to resolve the troubles of life, we often find it to be a struggle we weren’t prepared to take on. But, if we build our life upon the rock foundation of God’s truth and faithfulness, every day, relying not on our own understanding, but on His guidance, found in his Word, we receive trustworthy answers to our life’s little troubles, as well as grace and comfort through our major disappointments and failures (Matthew 7:24-27). “One day Jesus said, ‘Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.’ So they got into a boat and set out” (Luke 8:22-25). You know the story – Jesus curled up in the bow of the boat and took a little nap. “...A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.” Now some of Jesus’ followers are fishermen and know how to handle a boat, even in a storm, but this one must have been a whopper, enough to scare them all. They went to Jesus, probably astonished he was sleeping, and woke him, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up, rebuked the wind and the ragging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. ‘Where is your faith?’ he asked his disciples.” - They were amazed. When a person truly comes to an understanding of what God can do – they are always amazed. Do you wait until all is about to be lost before you wake up Jesus? Do you tell him to go back to sleep until you need him again, or does your faith in him keep him awake, alive and active in your life daily? Wake Him, today!