Video Talk
Matthew 8:23-27 ESV
“And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, ‘Save us, Lord; we are perishing.’ And he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?’ Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?’”
So, my husband Rick and I live in an apartment building. And
once a year we have to sign a new lease agreement. But last year and this year
the office kept making errors that needed to be corrected on the lease, so we
had to spend days and hours with them trying to get the errors fixed. Then, we
had an agreed upon lease, and then someone in the office deleted it, thinking
we didn’t want the lease. So, we had to do the lease over, and now we had a
signed and agreed upon lease again.
That all took place a couple of months ago, and then this
month arrived, which is the month that the new lease kicks in. And they did the
same thing as they did last year, claiming we had no lease at all, and so they
charged us, not just a higher rent amount, but an additional $300/month to go
month by month, because they assumed we had no lease (not the exact numbers,
but close enough to make the point). And the manager swore we had no lease on
file although we could see it in their/our records.
Now, thank the Lord we had the presence of mind, due to
experience, to download the lease and to make copies of it so that we could
show that we did have a lease, but now they are claiming that they are not able
presently to fix the incorrect charges, and we do not know how soon they will,
and we fully expect there to be an issue next month, since this experience is
nearly an exact parallel of what happened to us last year. But our concern is
if we don’t pay the full amount they say we owe that it will go against our
credit.
So, this is our present storm. And so what the Lord was
reminding me of this afternoon is that these storms have to obey him and he is
still completely sovereign over everything that goes on in our lives. And so,
yes, there are things we need to do to help correct this situation, but I need
to put this situation fully into the hands of the Lord and not let my faith get
weak over this difficult situation we are now faced with, again.
And then, I read back over this passage of Scripture and I
was reminded of times in my life when I thought God was not present in my
circumstances. Even one time, a long time ago, I said to him, in total innocence,
“But God, you do not understand!” I really thought he didn’t. I thought he had
no control over my situations. I knew he was a loving God, and I cried many
times to him in my pain and suffering, and I received his comfort, but I
believed he was limited and that he had no power in some areas.
And this is because he didn’t rescue me from difficult
situations in my life and so I assumed he could not, or he would have. Now all
this was not conscious thinking and reasoning, but we end up acting on what we really
believe, even if we think we believe something different. For in my conscious
mind I believed God was in control, but in my emotional memory I didn’t agree
with my conscious mind. And so I often responded to my circumstances based on
my emotional memory and not on true faith.
But that was some time ago, and I have been walking more by
faith in recent years. But still sometimes the storms of life can begin to work
their way into our emotions, and if we are not careful, we can begin to let
those circumstances upset us. And so we have to guard against that. For God is
not asleep, and he is not looking the other way, and he knows exactly what is
going on, and he is in control, even if we can’t see him working in our
circumstances.
We also have to know that he is not always going to calm the
storms raging about us, for he allows these storms in our lives to test our
faith, and to mature us in him, and to teach us patience and endurance, and so
that we can share in his holiness and in his righteousness. But he will calm
the storms that are within our minds and hearts and emotions, if we will let
him, and if we will trust him with our circumstances, and if we will yield to
his sovereign will for our lives.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZS9r4bWs38
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Master, The Tempest is Raging!
Lyrics by Mary A. Baker, 1874
Music by Horatio R. Palmer, 1874
Master, the tempest
is raging!
The billows are
tossing high!
The sky is
o’ershadowed with blackness,
No shelter or help
is nigh;
Carest Thou not that
we perish?
How canst Thou lie
asleep,
When each moment so
madly is threat’ning
A grave in the angry
deep?
Master, with anguish
of spirit
I bow in my grief
today;
The depths of my sad
heart are troubled—
Oh, waken and save,
I pray!
Torrents of sin and
of anguish
Sweep o’er my
sinking soul;
And I perish! I
perish! dear Master—
Oh, hasten, and take
control.
Master, the terror
is over,
The elements sweetly
rest;
Earth’s sun in the
calm lake is mirrored,
And heaven’s within
my breast;
Linger, O blessed
Redeemer!
Leave me alone no
more;
And with joy I shall
make the blest harbor,
And rest on the
blissful shore.
The winds and the
waves shall obey Thy will,
Peace, be still!
Whether the wrath of
the storm-tossed sea,
Or demons or men, or
whatever it be,
No waters can
swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean,
and earth, and skies;
They all shall
sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, be still!
Peace, be still!
They all shall
sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, peace, be
still!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlpSl3yadO4
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