Storms are a fascinating part of nature and God’s creation.
To be honest, I have mixed feelings about storms.
For one, I enjoy the streaks of lightning across a dark sky, the sounds of thunder rolling in the distance, and often the sound of rain drops falling from the sky.
In the same light, I often find myself a little frightened of storms, as we all have seen evidence of just how much damage a strong storm can produce.
Years ago my family and I were racing a storm system that was following behind as we traveled from St. Louis to our home in Northwest Ohio. We knew strong and severe storms were behind us and I had a plan to outrun them in the van.
The storm system eventually caught up with us in two locations (one, a gas station near Dayton, OH) and the other just north of there on I-75 where I honestly thought we were goners as tornado style winds banged violently against our van as we were stranded on the side of the road waiting for visibility).
There’s no doubt that storms can be scary and that they can cause damage. Just as storms in nature can cause storm damage, so can the storms of our every day lives.
However, I am encouraged every time I read the passage from Mark 6 where Jesus walked on water.
45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
47 Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified.
Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed
In verse 50 Jesus said, “Take courage! It is I.”
No other person do I want captaining my ship in the worst of times than Jesus!
And while storms can produce damage, we should remember that there are certain things that life’s storms can’t damage in our lives:
- Storms can’t destroy God’s purpose for us in our lives.
- Storms can’t destroy God’s presence in our lives.
- Storms can’t destroy God’s peace in our lives.
- Storms can’t destroy God’s power in our lives and over creation.
When you are going through a storm in your life take time to sit back and enjoy part of it (yes, I said enjoy it) because you will be able to see God’s presence and power within it (maybe after the storm is gone) and most importantly you’ll be able to experience His peace even more.
Bible Study
Bible Study