Scripture focus: Psalm 107:23-32 NKJV – 23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters, 24 They see the works of the Lord, And His wonders in the deep. 25 For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea. 26 They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble. 27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits’ end.28 Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. 29 He calms the storm, So that its waves are still. 30 Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven. 31 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! 32 Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, And praise Him in the company of the elders.
Recently I was visiting a church where friends of mine from Brazil were leading a worship service. During one of the worship songs as I was singing out loud, God gave me a vision of a group Christians who were having a prayer gathering in an open field. There were trees surrounding the edges of the open field, it reminded me of an infiltration course from when I was in the military (yep there is a message within a message there). The sky was dark and there was gentle Spring rain falling. The people at the prayer gathering were not fazed by the gentle rain, it was like a refreshing time during prayer, they continued praying and praising God. Suddenly, the gentle rain turned into a deluge, a heavy downpour. Half of the people were startled by the heavy rain, and they were running towards the tree line to find safety. But the other half of people stayed, they continued praying and praising God, not fazed by the deluge. The people who did not run away were happy and content, they welcomed the rain no matter how light or heavy it fell. They believed God sent the deluge as a sign of His abundant blessings. The people who ran away were frustrated, afraid and confused. They had believed that the enemy was trying to disrupt their prayer time.
As Christians we love to pray to God, we love to praise God. There is nothing like spending time in Gods presence. We love to give Him glory for all His mighty and wonderful blessings. During those moments of an intimate time with God we often cry out “more Lord! Fill us up! More of your anointing Lord!” For some, we are ready for God to show up anyway He pleases. But for some, when God shows up in a way that we were not expecting, we struggle with whether that is of God or not.
When we experience storms in life, we get to decide whether to trust God or to fear the storm. I know people who are always calm among the chaos, believing in faith that God will get them through the storm. And there are some who get anxious, forgetting all the other times that God saved them from the storm. During a storm it is ok to be startled and nervous, it is ok to question what is going on at that moment. But may we not lose our focus on the One who will calm the storm. The Lighthouse in the storm will guide us to safety. The Beacon of hope reminds us that this too shall pass!
Several years ago, I was driving home from work. I had an hour drive ahead of me and during the travel I was in the middle of a bad storm. Heavy rain and high winds. There was no place to pull over, no place to wait for the storm to pass. I had no choice but to keep driving, praying that eventually I would get through the storm. You can imagine how anxious and nervous I was trying to get through the storm and make it home safely. As I was praying, well more like crying out to God, I suddenly felt this calming peace come over me. I silenced my cry for help. As I was feeling at peace God reminded me that above those dark stormy clouds above me, that there is a bright shining sun just waiting to penetrate the darkness! God reminded me that storms do not last. And eventually the light has to breakthrough the clouds of doom and gloom. Darkness cannot cover the light, and light exposes the darkness. My crying out to God in my anxiousness had turned to a shout of praise on the rest of the way home. I made it home safely.
I love to travel by plane, and there have been storms during my flights. When pilots are flying a plane in a storm, they will try to fly the plane higher and higher to get above the clouds, above the storm. But wouldn’t it be safer to just land the plane on the ground? Unfortunately, you cannot land a plane just anywhere you like. The safest place is above the storm. And oh my, how beautiful it is to see the sky above the clouds! To see that bright blue sky and bright shining sun! Isn’t that what it is like when Jesus shows up among the midst of our storm? Is not that what it is like to see the bright shining Son, His presence!
My Grandfather used to tell me when I was a kid that, “you can’t have the rainbow without the rain.”
My Grandmother shared with me how one day, when she was a little girl, she was walking home from school. While she was walking, she noticed that dark storm clouds were rolling in. She was scared because she was alone. Scared of the unknown, not knowing if it would rain, thunder or lightning. Storms can be very scary for kids. But she remembered that when she was scared that she just needed to sing a hymn. She started singing her favorite hymn “How Great Thou Art,” suddenly she saw Jesus’ face in the sky. His face was so big that it covered the storm clouds. My Grandmother felt at peace. She knew that to maintain a calming peace that she needed to remain focused on Jesus’ face. She continued her walk home, singing and she also would recite her favorite scripture, Psalm 23. She knew Jesus followed her home that day. And as she got older whenever she would feel anxious, my Grandmother would still remember that day when she saw Jesus’ face.
I want to end this devotional with this… When Jesus died on the cross, He said “it is finish”. But guess what? It was not the end! It was the beginning of a new chapter in His life, through resurrection power 3 days later. Despite the struggles and hardships, we face in life, despite the storms, it is not over till God says it is over! We all go through seasons. Sometimes the struggles seem like they will never end, but eventually they do get better. Be encouraged, stand firm, and increase your faith. Storms never last and always remember that even in the worst of stormy weather, that there is always a bright shining sun that is above those dark clouds, just waiting to pierce the darkness!
But wait there’s more… Never forget that when you are facing a storm that: 1. Jesus was with you before the storm. 2. He is there with you during the storm. And 3. He will still be there after the storm! Jesus is the calm during the storm.
