Storms!

Jesus reprimanded them, “Why are you such cowards? Such faith hearts?” Then He stood up and told the wind to be silent, the sea to quiet down: “Silence!” The sea became as smooth as glass. Matthew 8:26

This past week multiple storms passed through our area and the Southeastern United States bringing with them heavy rain, winds, and even tornados in some areas. When my sisters and I were growing up in South Georgia, storms were pretty severe in our area, and in order to weather them we practiced some very scientific methods to prepare ourselves for the worst of it.

We were all a little afraid of lightning, but the thunder was the most frightening. Everyone knows that light travels faster than sound, so we would wait until we saw a bolt of lightning, then begin to count “one Mississippi, two Mississippi,” and so on until we heard the thunder. According to our scientific Mama, that meant for each second we counted the storm was that many miles away.

I have read recently, however, that we had simplifed the process a bit. Evidently the total of seconds you count between lightning and thunder, you must divide that by five to determine when the center of the storm will hit! I still practice the old method of calculation, and it seems to actually work really well without getting the math involved!

Just like the storms in weather, storms come through every life and none of us are exempt. Most of the time these storms come with out advance notice, and we aren’t prepared for what lies ahead. Sometimes we think we would love some advance warning, but would we? Would it be better for us to be able to count down before bad times come in life and prepare, or would we really want to spend useless days worrying?

An unknown source said, Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. What would the knowledge of impending events do to our faith? The disciples from the above scripture experienced an unforseen storm, and these followers of Jesus were terrifed thinking they would die in the storm. All the while Jesus was in the hinder part of the ship asleep on a pillow. They awakened Him, and He rebuked the winds and the waves. The storm they were encountering was no surprise to Him, and He had it all in hand all the time.

We are much like those disciples when storms come our way, and we forget that God is still in control. Storms come in all areas of life including health, finances, friends, relationships, and so many other circumstances. There are reasons that we face storms in this life, but many times we don’t comprehend the purpose until after the storm has passed. Sometimes the storms come, and we never fully understand the exact purpose or reason, but our faith carries us through and we find our refuge and strength in Him.

I’ve heard it said that sometimes just the time we think things can’t get any worse, the storm in our lives intensifies. God knows how to get our attention, and in the midst of the greatest storm we have a tendency to wait until all our options have failed before we call on HIm. When we finally call on him, we realize that He’s been there all the time.

Years ago a storm devastated many families in Honduras. A reporter interviewed a woman who had lost everything. She said, “Yes, it was awful, and we have to start all over again, but the good news is that it brought our family back together again. We are closer than ever, and the community is bonding together like never before.”

The disciples did get through the storm and arrived safely on the other side. God wasn’t through with them yet! He had something else waiting beyond the storm. When the storms of life beat us down, it would be good to remember that there is life beyond the storm. God isn’t finished with us yet, either!

The words from a beautiful song say it best, When you walk through a storm, Hold your head up high, And don’t be afraid of the dark. At the end of the storm there’s a golden sky, And the sweet silver song of a lark. Walk on through the wind, Walk on through the rain, Though your dreams be tossed and blown. Walk on, Walk on, with hope in your heart, And you’ll never walk alone. Richard Rogers