Living in the Eye of the Storm

Ps 18:2-6

2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3 I call to the Lord,who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. 4 The cords of death entangled me;the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. 5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;the snares of death confronted me. 6 In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. (NIV)

I am blessed to live in sunny Florida- a place where I have been known to lay out in the sun on Christmas Day and get a lovely glow!  Just a short drive from my home, I can dig my toes in the pristine, sugar-white sandy beaches, as the beautiful, aquamarine water laps gently on the seashore.  The crashing sound of the surf soothes my soul.  The cry of seagulls completes the symphony of tranquility that I can enjoy.

All of these are benefits of living in a sunny, peninsular paradise.  But then...there are the hurricanes.  During those times, the water is no longer a haven, but a freeway for destruction. Torrential floods, tornadic winds, power outages, all are a huge downside to living in a coastal area.

As Christians, we abide in the sun of hope that is found in Jesus, our Savior.  We enjoy His presence, His peace, His joy.  And we are thankful.  But just as I can come to take my geographical location for granted, I can take the blessings of God for granted.  I can get an entitlement attitude where I feel like I "deserve" to live in a bubble of protection where no harm can befall me.  But such is the not the case of life.  Real life is a mixture of good and bad, joy and pain, sunshine and rain.  What do I do when the storms of life press in?

Ryan Stevenson's "Eye of the Storm" says it so poignantly:

"In the eye of the storm, You remain in control
And in the middle of the war, You guard my soul
You alone are the anchor, when my sails are torn
Your love surrounds me in the eye of the storm"

(Read more at http://www.lyrics.com/eye-of-the-storm-feat-gabereal-lyrics-ryan-stevenson.html#x0ABmDHSmXtKugd3.99)

When a hurricane presses down on the panhandle, we gather our supplies and we batten down our hatches. We hunker in.  (Whatever all that means!)  We run for a place of safety- a sturdy building.   When a hurricane of life comes our way,  we must run into the Rock of Ages.  We must take refuge in the Name of Jesus, our High Tower!

Life has been pressing down on my family for a while.  When it seems the storm is abating, we hear a new wind kicking up again.  It is disheartening.  It is frightening.  But I take great solace in knowing that His love always surrounds us.  Even if we are in the "eye of the storm."

Dear Lord, I pray today for others who are hurting.  Please comfort the mourning and dejected, please bind up the broken hearted and offer joy and peace to those who feel that they are without hope today.  Help us to find our way to the ark of safety, the protection that is in your Word and in the Name of Jesus.  Hide us, O Rock of Salvation, until the danger passes!  In Your mighty name, I pray.  Amen.

© Sherri Evans Ministries 2016. All rights reserved. Used by permission. For booking schedule and information: sherrievans@sherrievansministries.com

Then Peace Arose

 

 

Mark 4:35-41

 

On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side."  36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"

39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?"*  41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"

NKJV

"Then He arose..."  Doesn't that just give you goose bumps?!  When I think about the power that got up when Jesus raised his head from the pillow, I am astounded!  Never doubt the enemy of your soul knows who Jesus is and what He can do!  Resident within Him is all power, authority and dominion.  There is not one hurdle, circumstance, sickness, family rift or sad feeling that is not subject to the Master of all the universe.  He is the Great I Am!  When He arose the second time (from the grave) He rose with the keys to death and hell!  All are under His command.

When He speaks, the very elements of nature obey.  All Natural Law bows its knee.  All of hell trembles and does His bidding, simply at the sound of His voice.  But, oh, when He gives a command, it is irrefutable!  Undeniable!  Unstoppable!  That is the Jesus who is speaking on behalf of you! He knows what storm you are facing and how strong the squalls are.  And He knows what to do about them.  When he speaks, "Peace, be still," it shall be so!

Let the great calm penetrate your heart.  If you have asked for His help, help is on its way.  It is hard to say what the breakthrough will look like, but it will be just what you need.  Rest in confidence and peace. The peace-speaker is in your boat.

 

Dear Lord, I have asked you for help, and now I choose to enter your rest knowing that you will handle it.  Increase my peace.  In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

 

Safe in the Storm

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.”  Psalm  55:22

Worries and cares of this life can crush a person beneath the weight of it all.  It seems that just about every day presents new concerns, issues and struggles.  Learning to cast our cares upon the Lord is crucial to learning to have peace to stand during a trial.

I have personally always struggled with knowing where the dividing line is between my responsibilities in a situation and trusting God.  By nature I am a proactive person. The Bible verse that says “…you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand.” (Eph. 6:13) has always left me wondering, but have I done all?

There are situations in life where it is obvious we have a part to play in a situation.  If you have said angry words to someone and they are mad, it is obvious we must apologize before we pray and wait for God to reconcile the relationship.  If you need a job, the first step is looking for one and applying for things for which you are qualified, then you pray for a job.

I have made it my practice to pray for direction, and then do what I can and then try to wait patiently on God for the answer.  But there are other situations that from the very inception of the problem, there are no obvious action steps to take.  That is when I am endeavoring to trust rather than try.  Pray rather than fret, worry and analyze.

The sustaining power of the Lord is what sees us through days of doubt and seemingly unending times of trial and test.  God is able to give us the amount of grace that we need to make it through each day.  We have all had hard times in life.  We have seasons of pain, loss and darkness.  But the hand of God is there, keeping us through whatever we are going through.

One day I was driving home through a terrible electrical storm.  The lightning was popping close to my car, and I was just praying for the protection of the Lord to get me home.  That is when He gave me an analogy that has seen me through many things.  I could see the rain, as it was pounding on my car. I could see the how strong the wind was, as it was bending trees over. The lightening was booming and cracking all around me, but inside that car I was safe.  It was like I was enveloped in a cocoon of protection. That is how the sustaining hand of God is.  We can see the hardship; we feel the fear; our journey is impacted by the storm; but through it all, God is still a barrier between what we are going through and us.  He keeps our Spirit safe in his care, always giving us the hope, grace and strength we need to get through that day.

He will never let the righteous fall.  Wow.  What a promise.  When all of our kids were toddlers and wanting to walk everywhere we went, my husband and I would hold their little hands.  When they would stumble and begin to fall, we would pull up on their arms to keep them from being harmed.  God is so much bigger, so much stronger and so much more mindful of the things that could cause us to stumble.  He is well able to protect us and prevent us from falling.  I encourage you today to cast your care on Him and allow Him to sustain and protect you.

Dear Lord, I need your help today to let go of the situations that weight heavily on my mind.  Keep and protect me.  Sustain my faith and strength.  Thank you that as I walk with you, holding your hand, you keep me from falling.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri