Storms

“...In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

Several years ago, I was speaking at a family camp in the Blue Mountains, not far from Sydney Australia. It had been an incredibly hot week. The only places in the conference center that had air conditioning were the main hall and the dinning room. The guest rooms were extremely hot, making it difficult to sleep at night. Because it was so hot outside, keeping the windows open did little to help. Bev and I were among the lucky ones who at least had a small fan. Of course, the fan could only circulate the hot air. The heat was miserable!

During the second or third night of the camp, the temperature suddenly dropped at least 30 or maybe even 40 degrees. It went from the smothering heat to freezing in what seemed to be a matter of minutes. A strong storm moved in with high winds, heavy rain, lighting, thunder, and hail stones half the size of a golf ball. Lightning was striking all around us. The strong winds tore off tree branches. It was scary! Now, we were unplugging the fans and looking for our jackets. It all happened so quickly and the contrast was huge.

Life can be like that. For many of us, 2017 came in just like a storm. Everything seems to be changing radically. Some of us are wondering what is happening and how these changes are going to affect our lives. In Matthew 14:22-32, there is a fantastic picture of a storm and Jesus walking into it bringing peace and calm. In the darkest part of the night, the disciples are in a little boat, driven and tossed by the wind. Exhausted and afraid, Jesus comes to their rescue in the middle of the storm. It’s a great story when you can take time to read it and listen to what He speaks to you through it. Jesus is always in the middle of the storms of our lives, carefully watching and waiting to help.