And a Windstorm Came Down

One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?” (Luke 8:22-25 ESV)

What’s your windstorm that you are going through right now? Do you have the faith to believe Jesus for a miracle? Or are you afraid? Are you giving up hope that a miracle can ever or will ever come your way? Are you doubting God that he is there and that he has all things under his control? Or are you trusting the Lord with your storm? Are you relying on him to act on your behalf? No matter what comes your way? And are you speaking truth into your situation and refusing to believe the lies of the enemy?

Many of us who are following Jesus Christ with our lives are going through storms of some kind or another, and I don’t necessarily mean physical storms with clouds and rain and thunder and lightning. I mean trials and tribulations and things which test our faith and difficulties and persecutions and rejections and mistreatment and abuse. And some of this could be coming from our natural family members and some could be coming from others who profess faith in Jesus Christ or who don’t profess Christ.

So, what kinds of storms? 

Someone may have just lost a job and is having a difficult time finding another and is wondering how he is going to make ends meet and how he is going to pay his bills and support his family. Not many are hiring new people because of the economy. His rent or his house payment is coming up due, and the refrigerator and pantry are almost empty now. His children are needing clothing and shoes, for they have outgrown the other ones, and they need to buy school supplies, and the list goes on and on. What next?

Another has just lost her spouse or a child to death and so she is grieving that loss and is weeping over not having that person in her life anymore. And if she is now widowed, she has the full financial and physical responsibility of maintaining a house and a budget and the paying of bills, and she may not have the finances to handle it all. And then she has to make all sorts of decisions and do all kinds of legal paperwork, and it all is just overwhelming her and she doesn’t know how much more she can take.

Another just went through an actual physical storm that wiped out his home or his whole community and now he is displaced and is having to find another place to live, but he lost everything, not just his house but all his possessions and important documents and family photos and all kinds of family heirlooms, etc. But all the people survived! But now he has to start over, but he still owns that property and he still owes the monthly payment on the house that no longer exists, and so lots of legal paperwork, too.

And then there are those who are married to spouses who are eternally unfaithful, or so have been. Their spouses deliberately and habitually sin against them in acts of adultery and sexual immorality and idolatry, and they continually make excuses for why they can’t be faithful, and for why they can’t get out of their slavery to sin, even blaming the faithful spouses or God or anything and everything other than themselves. And the unfaithful spouses may well be those professing faith in Jesus Christ, too.

And so that leaves the faithful spouse with the responsibility to try to keep the family together or to leave. But leaving is not as easy as what many make it out to be. The faithful spouse may not have the skill set to make enough money to live alone, not at today’s prices, or he or she may be aged and/or handicapped and not able to earn an income enough, again, to pay bills or to be physically able to maintain a steady job. And other options may be actually worse than what he or she is already experiencing.

There are just so many scenarios that I could mention here. But Jesus promised us that if we follow him with our lives that we are going to have these storms. And he said we would be hated and persecuted and mistreated, even by our own family members, just because we follow the Lord Jesus with our lives. And so we need to call on him, yes for mercy, but we also need to rest in him and trust him in our difficult circumstances when there seems to be no way out other than to stay and endure the storm.

So, we need the wisdom of God and his direction in knowing how to respond to our storms and what to do next, i.e. what steps to take. But then we must rest in him and trust him to work it all out according to his plan and purposes for our lives, and not just for our lives but for the lives of others who are also impacted by what we are going through. For sometimes the Lord uses our storms to minister to other people who are also going through storms, perhaps just to encourage them that they are not alone.

So, trust the Lord, let him lead you in the way he would have you go, and be strong in the Lord and in his strength, and go with him wherever he leads you. For he did not promise us that life would be easy. He told us it would be hard and that we would be persecuted and hated and mistreated as he was, and that we will be rejected and abandoned and cast aside as worthless, although we are not worthless, not to God, not if we are following him with our lives. And then just believe the Lord to work it all out according to plan.

Hear my Voice 

An Original Work / July 9, 2012

Based off Psalm 27

The Lord is my great salvation.

He’s the stronghold of my life.

When my enemies attack me,

My heart will not fear at all.

Though a war break out against me,

Confident in Christ I’ll be.

Of the Lord, I ask that I may

Live with Him eternally. 

Hear my voice, Lord, when I call you.

Merciful to me You’ll be.

Though my relatives forsake me,

My Lord God will receive me.

Teach me Your way, O my Jesus.

Lead me in Your righteousness.

I will sacrifice to my Lord.

I will sing with joyfulness.

I am confident that I will

See the goodness of the Lord.

All the richness of His blessings,

My Lord has for me in store.

He asks me to be of courage;

To be strong and to take heart,

Patiently as I wait for Him,

And from Him to ne’er depart.

https://vimeo.com/119813963