Sometimes when we are faced with several choices to make with quite monumental results, we hesitate and think things through, weighing up the possible results carefully. Then we make our decision in the light of our research. This is especially true for those who believe that God can and will direct their paths.
Take the time that the disciples crossed the vast lake at the command of the Lord Jesus, and ran into one of the worst storms they had ever experienced. They were experienced fishermen who could read the weather signs and knew how to handle these sudden storms that whipped up the lake surface into a frenzy. Jesus knew all this, and He knew a storm was coming up that would test them to the maximum. They hadn’t made a mistake that brought this upon them, they were there for a purpose.
Remember this….Jesus Christ knows the storm we are in at any given time. He could have stopped the storm coming to the disciples, but He wanted to show them His power. We don’t encounter these storms because we have made a mistake, we have to go through them to learn more about Him. He knows the storm that I may be in right now, but He wants me to go through it so He can show me His power and refine the dross out of my life and strengthen the faith I have in Him.
The Lord speaks to us in these three ways …. In the storm….He comes to us through the storm, walking on the water…”I will never leave you”, He says. (Read Matthew 14: 22-26) Through the storm… He reminds us that He is there with us…”don’t be afraid”, He says, “trust Me”. (Read Mark 4: 35-39) The storm within you….often when these storms come, they attack us from the inside. We get in a turmoil because of circumstances beyond our control, and wonder where we are going to turn next. A man named Nicodemus was like this, and he went to Jesus to ask for help. It seems that he was a man in turmoil, not knowing which way to turn. But Jesus went straight to the root of his problem, and told him he needed to have a whole new way of life, and how to get it….we read about this in John chapter three.
Don’t be afraid of being afraid….storms always have an end. There will be a period of calm when it is over and then another one may come but because we have proved our Lord’s help with the first one, we have confidence within the next one. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)
We cannot build the house during the storm, we must have it built before it comes! Remember….He is the Lord of all our storms. Transitions in life come to all of us, and how will we handle them? Will we go through them kicking and wrestling as it were, or will we just trust God to work things out? Transitions are never peaceful, they are a time of turmoil. Take the birth of a child….a time of labour for the mother and time of turmoil for the child leaving the womb to enter this world. So many things in our lives are a transition….a new baby brings a whole new way of life to a couple; a move to a new area is a period of turmoil until settled in; children reaching the teenage years bring a transition for both themselves and their parents. Then again there is the transition into the empty nest syndrome and finally into retirement. But that is not the end….what about the transition into the retirement village and then the rest home? What about the transition of the loss of a spouse? It seems that the whole of life is a series of transitions. We need the Lord’s help in each of these transitions in life. Nothing remains static…change is the essence of life. Let’s make sure that we approach each of these transitions with the peace of God in our heart and mind. Let’s remember the verse in the Bible that says…. Be anxious about nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)