I hadn't heard that sound since I was growing up. It was the sound of a train coming towards me. As it grew louder I was silent. The dogs and I just stood on the front step and listened. The wind crashed into the area around us throwing branches everywhere. Such a force is seen regularly in many places in the world. The sound was up and down for the next few hours. At 8:15 PM the power went out. With lit candles and flashlights we were able to do nothing. Buddy and Henry, our dogs were scared and stayed close to us. As we were dependent upon God to keep us safe, they were dependent upon us to keep them safe. This morning the winds have died down, power is on and we are waiting for the next "wave" of this storm to hit and move past us. And it will.
When we read the Bible we are made aware of all of the "storms" that came upon the people of God as well as their enemies. We who believe were an enemy of God. Now we are adopted children having chosen Jesus as our Savior. The spiritual storms continue to move upon us and through us. Often the storms are of our own making. There are several storm stories that I like in the Bible. The first one is of Jesus walking on the water and telling Peter to walk out to him. Peter does! What a great moment of faith! I'd like to say that I would, like Peter, walk out of the boat onto the water and into the arms of Jesus. That would, obviously, be dependent on my believing God can make this happen. Perhaps with flotation devices!
The Old Testament story that captivates my imagination and wonder is when God caused a darkness to come upon the world while his people were captives in Egypt. The darkness was so thick that you couldn't see anything! That wouldn't be the last time darkness was the result of God bringing about his plan of salvation for us. As Jesus hung on the cross he came to that point where he died. The world became saturated with darkness much like the darkness that is present in our lives before we learn of Jesus and ask him to be the light of our world. He gladly accepts the job of being the light of the world through those who are submitted to him. The scales fall from our eyes and we can see the world and those in it through the eyes of God.
There will be no storms in Heaven. There will be no winds that shake our confidence. There will be no darkness every as we walk the streets of gold. The light that comes when we know Jesus will never go dark...ever. No time, no darkness and no pain. Just the love of Jesus and fellowship with him all day, every day. Time will cease to exist in Heaven. All we will want to do is praise Jesus and honor him. The weather of Heaven is always just perfect. (What did you expect?) Should we live yet another day on earth, we will see more storms. With him the captain of his boat, we will weather the storm and reach the other shore.
So, tell everyone you know how to get out of or go through the storms in their lives. Live the peace in your own life. The storms will come and go but the Lord will remain faithful in caring for us, his people.
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