It's okay to say this about the weather if you truly love storms. I LOVE storms! The rougher the better. That is until they become destructive. I love the lightening that flashes across the sky. Especially during the night. Driving from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas I was given the most wonderful lightening show I've ever seen! The strike lightening is more dramatic and exciting than the sheet lightening. Along with the lightening there is the thunder. I could care less about the low rumble. It's the hard earth shaking crash of the thunder that really causes me to be amazed!
However, the storms of life tend to drag me down and prolong the events in my life that are causing the storm. It's the same for love. The more dramatic the love, the greater the loss of love. Let me explain. It's been said; "Only those who have been hurt deeply are able to feel love deeply." We are talking about the means by which we came to understand and appreciate the storm and the love. The two are juxtaposed in our lives in varying degrees. There are those who have weathered the storm and consequently are able to love deeply. Conversely, those who haven't been through a storm are not able o feel love as deeply.
My life has been marked by many storms. Some were caused by my own thoughts and behaviors. While others intruded on my life like an unwanted cancer. The denial of love by some have also taken their toll on me over the years. However, it was the basic foundation and definition of love that was skewed. Long story short, my definition of love was not accurate at all. Love, for me, almost always was attached to pain and loss. My definition of pain and loss was also not accurate at all. When we are growing up (or our kids are growing up) the actions and words of others form our definitions.
Sometimes God speaks to us in the storm and in the peace. Often his still small voice is just that; still and small. It reminds me of when I was a police officer. We often were sent to reports of a person who was drunk. When I was in my training phase a wise officer told me that the best way to take care of a drunk person was to whisper. So, I tried that suggestion and the other officer was right! When I whispered the drunk person would quiet down so he could hear. Often the words he heard were a request for him or her to turn around and put their hands behind their back. Click! I'm glad God doesn't treat us that way. I would be continually in jail.
Sometimes God speaks in the loud commands meant to gather our attention and obedience. It's not enough to hear what God is saying. We need to listen to what God is saying. Anyone who loves God knows that he can be just as loud as he needs in order for us to get the message. That's because he loves us. The difference between God and man is so huge that it's difficult to find adjectives that really exemplify God's love. That's why Jesus came to earth, lived, died, and rose from the dead. Where once heard the roar of God, other's were hearing the roar of the crowd. Sometimes the whisper is so loud you can barely stand it! Then, sometimes the roar is so silent that you cannot ignore it.
I wasn't there but believe that Jesus was quietly giving a roaring message while the people were hearing loudly and not hearing the whisper at all. Sometimes I find myself doing that with people. I'm a people watcher and enjoy trying to figure people out by quietly observing. There are plenty of characters out there who have a great story and those you don't want to hear from at all. I want to be able to hear AND listen to all the times God speaks to me. The best way to do that is to obey. Not something I always do well at all.
There will be storms of varying intensity making their way through our lives and the lives of other's lives. Sometimes there are lots of messages and sometimes their is silence. There is a message in the silence as well. Don't just hear what God is saying. Listen to what God is saying. He wants to talk with us daily. The thing that keeps us from hearing God is our not wanting to leave the sin we are engaged in. God has been gracious to me as I've worn out angel after angel. Still the grace was held out to me. The amount of grace is diametrically opposed to how much love I am able to receive. Conversely, the amount of grace realized is reflective of the love we have for God, self and others.
To those who much is given, there is much expected. When the storm passes your way in life, look for the lightening. God's power and might are displayed for all to see in the thunder and lightening as well as the quiet day with sunshine and a light breeze. The question we must ask ourselves is: What are you giving the world around you? Are you giving love and grace or do you thunder your disapproval? What do the storms of life mean to you? How do the storms lead to the quiet of peace and grace? Hope it storms today!
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