After The Storm
I began writing a letter to a friend going through a difficult time- my goal was to not say "I know how you feel" or "I am so sorry for your pain"- I opened up my Bible and as per usual in God's perfect way a verse popped out to me. It was one that in the midst of trial I didn't believe, but after the dust settled and I was sitting in the aftermath of the storm, it all became clear. Just thought I would share some of my thoughts...
Psalm 107:29- He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed.
Life is a series of challenges and tests. It comes fully equipped with pleasure and pain, sunshine and rain. It is a random mix of every feeling imaginable. I have been in the storm and I have stood by the ones I love in the storm, the storm does pass after a while. The thunder quits clapping, the rain stops, the clouds clear, and the day breaks. What a blessing it is when the night has been too long, to know that at last- it is morning.
If you are blessed to live a long life, you will see many triumphs and face many challenges. You will laugh in joy and you will wail in pain. You will experience every feeling known to man. You will see good times as well as bad. No one is exempt from bad times. No one can hide from pain. They are realities that knock on the doors of both mansions and shacks. They visit people who have everything and people who have nothing. Yet in the midst of it all, when we are facing situations that seem to have no rhyme or reason, it helps to know that somewhere in and beyond the passion and the pain, there is God.
The Lord Himself gives us new days. He sees us through the storms and the night times. So what about those storms? They will cease. And when they pass, we will be safe in the arms of our Lord, the Master of all seasons.
And when we will ourselves to fall into his arms- we experience the healing peace that only He can give.
I began thinking about how this applied to the disciples and Jesus' followers during and after his crucifixion, the Empty Tomb and his ascension. Think about that storm they were in- the storm of all storms. I sometimes brush over the fact these men/women were walking on this earth with the same ideas, emotions and feelings that you and I hold- I forget to make them relational. It makes the pain, the confusion, the helplessness they felt as they watched it all happen- it brings it to a real level. As humans in the midst of a storm, even an expected storm- the pain can at times enable us to think rationally, and to easily keep us from looking forward to the time after the storm has passed. I mean in Luke 23:13-35, it speaks of 2 of his followers sadness. Do we sometimes judge the disciples for their doubt, when we ourselves have the whole story laid out and still doubt, still deny? We doubt all the time, even when the signs are clear and even when God has continually been there for us- But this isn't about doubt, maybe I will touch on that subject on another day.
The point is that even Jesus' early followers had to walk thru the storm, had to experience the doubt, the fear and fully expose their hearts to Gods healing power. And it was then that Jesus revealed himself and His will for them to move out of the storm and use the power of His sacrifice, to spread his gospel. Aren't we called to do the same?
Walk thru the storm, hold your head high... This will pass
a
Psalm 107:29- He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed.
Life is a series of challenges and tests. It comes fully equipped with pleasure and pain, sunshine and rain. It is a random mix of every feeling imaginable. I have been in the storm and I have stood by the ones I love in the storm, the storm does pass after a while. The thunder quits clapping, the rain stops, the clouds clear, and the day breaks. What a blessing it is when the night has been too long, to know that at last- it is morning.
If you are blessed to live a long life, you will see many triumphs and face many challenges. You will laugh in joy and you will wail in pain. You will experience every feeling known to man. You will see good times as well as bad. No one is exempt from bad times. No one can hide from pain. They are realities that knock on the doors of both mansions and shacks. They visit people who have everything and people who have nothing. Yet in the midst of it all, when we are facing situations that seem to have no rhyme or reason, it helps to know that somewhere in and beyond the passion and the pain, there is God.
The Lord Himself gives us new days. He sees us through the storms and the night times. So what about those storms? They will cease. And when they pass, we will be safe in the arms of our Lord, the Master of all seasons.
And when we will ourselves to fall into his arms- we experience the healing peace that only He can give.
I began thinking about how this applied to the disciples and Jesus' followers during and after his crucifixion, the Empty Tomb and his ascension. Think about that storm they were in- the storm of all storms. I sometimes brush over the fact these men/women were walking on this earth with the same ideas, emotions and feelings that you and I hold- I forget to make them relational. It makes the pain, the confusion, the helplessness they felt as they watched it all happen- it brings it to a real level. As humans in the midst of a storm, even an expected storm- the pain can at times enable us to think rationally, and to easily keep us from looking forward to the time after the storm has passed. I mean in Luke 23:13-35, it speaks of 2 of his followers sadness. Do we sometimes judge the disciples for their doubt, when we ourselves have the whole story laid out and still doubt, still deny? We doubt all the time, even when the signs are clear and even when God has continually been there for us- But this isn't about doubt, maybe I will touch on that subject on another day.
The point is that even Jesus' early followers had to walk thru the storm, had to experience the doubt, the fear and fully expose their hearts to Gods healing power. And it was then that Jesus revealed himself and His will for them to move out of the storm and use the power of His sacrifice, to spread his gospel. Aren't we called to do the same?
Walk thru the storm, hold your head high... This will pass
a
