We have had a lot of rain lately, haven’t we? While all that rain can really take a toll on us, it’s also the perfect time to think about how we deal with the storms of life. First of all, we must acknowledge the fact that life can be stormy. When the storms come, we often want to hunker down and pray to GOD to either calm the storm or remove us from it so we can be safe and cozy. I have become convinced, however, that we need to change our prayer posture, so to speak. One way I deal with this is to shift my focus from the things that are going wrong to the One who can do something about it. In other words, instead of talking to GOD about my problem, I started talking to my problem about my GOD. For example, instead of focusing on my anger, fear, anxiety, etc., I focusing on how GOD is grace; GOD is mercy; GOD is peace; GOD is love; GOD is forgiving; GOD is present; GOD is peace, GOD is...
Matthew 14.22-34 is the account of how Jesus walked on water and invited Peter out to join Him. We typically equate that story with having the faith to get out of the boat, yet while I was going through my prayer on the qualities of GOD, this story came back into my consciousness. At first I interpreted it as I needed to have the faith to walk on water by getting out of the boat (and that's still part of it) but another truth came to me. In this story, the disciples are in a boat that is in the middle of a storm while Jesus is on a mountain in prayer. From His vantage point, Jesus could see His friends were in trouble and he came to their aid by walking on the water.
Jesus did not allow the storm to separate Him from those who needed to Him, so He literally overcame the physical limitations of this world to go to their aid. What really struck me is the time lapse, though; you see, I know from hearing this story many times in my life that Jesus calmed the storm. What hit me, though, is the fact that this doesn't happen until the very end of this story…don't miss the significance here, my friend! Jesus didn't wait for the storm to end before he came to His friends' aid. He also didn't spare the moment to calm the storm first ... He came to them in the middle of the storm. And the whole episode of Peter getting out of the boat to walk on the water occurs, again, in the middle of the storm!!!
When we wait or expect for GOD to calm life’s storms before we join Him in His work, we're missing a greater truth. Jesus comes to us and asks us to join Him in the midst of our storm. The chaos we experience is opening us up in faith to follow Him. While we're asking Jesus to calm the storm so we can act for Him, He's telling us to act for Him and let Him worry about the storm. This can be scary faith stuff, because it requires us to quit focusing on the storm and focus on Him. Then the storm-calming work Jesus does first and foremost, therefore, is to calm the storm within us.
I want to encourage you to acknowledge your storm, but quit focusing on it. Instead, focus on the person and character of GOD who is walking to you in the middle of your storm and asking you to join Him in the impossible. He might not calm the storm before you, but He wants to calm the storm within you so you can join Him in every aspect of life. When you can embrace this, it will definitely change you as you realize the storm doesn't have any power over you, but the One who is holding you in the storm certainly does.
Matthew 14.22-34 is the account of how Jesus walked on water and invited Peter out to join Him. We typically equate that story with having the faith to get out of the boat, yet while I was going through my prayer on the qualities of GOD, this story came back into my consciousness. At first I interpreted it as I needed to have the faith to walk on water by getting out of the boat (and that's still part of it) but another truth came to me. In this story, the disciples are in a boat that is in the middle of a storm while Jesus is on a mountain in prayer. From His vantage point, Jesus could see His friends were in trouble and he came to their aid by walking on the water.
Jesus did not allow the storm to separate Him from those who needed to Him, so He literally overcame the physical limitations of this world to go to their aid. What really struck me is the time lapse, though; you see, I know from hearing this story many times in my life that Jesus calmed the storm. What hit me, though, is the fact that this doesn't happen until the very end of this story…don't miss the significance here, my friend! Jesus didn't wait for the storm to end before he came to His friends' aid. He also didn't spare the moment to calm the storm first ... He came to them in the middle of the storm. And the whole episode of Peter getting out of the boat to walk on the water occurs, again, in the middle of the storm!!!
When we wait or expect for GOD to calm life’s storms before we join Him in His work, we're missing a greater truth. Jesus comes to us and asks us to join Him in the midst of our storm. The chaos we experience is opening us up in faith to follow Him. While we're asking Jesus to calm the storm so we can act for Him, He's telling us to act for Him and let Him worry about the storm. This can be scary faith stuff, because it requires us to quit focusing on the storm and focus on Him. Then the storm-calming work Jesus does first and foremost, therefore, is to calm the storm within us.
I want to encourage you to acknowledge your storm, but quit focusing on it. Instead, focus on the person and character of GOD who is walking to you in the middle of your storm and asking you to join Him in the impossible. He might not calm the storm before you, but He wants to calm the storm within you so you can join Him in every aspect of life. When you can embrace this, it will definitely change you as you realize the storm doesn't have any power over you, but the One who is holding you in the storm certainly does.
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