Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion’s guest room. Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it.

When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, “Things aren’t always what they seem.”

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night’s rest. When the sun came up the next morning, the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field.

The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel “How could you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him,” he accused. “The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die.”

“Things aren’t always what they seem,” the older angel replied. “When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn’t find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow, instead. Things aren’t always what they seem.”

Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don’t turn out the way it seems they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that “all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” You just might not know it until some time later…

Anonymous illustration found online.
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Two months before my beloved husband of 31 years died…the Lord spoke to my heart and said to me, “You are about to enter the GREATEST season of your life!” Blessed by those words with vision of Mike and I growing old and sharing God’s love with others together…I was shocked when Mike was suddenly “absent from the body and present with the Lord”. In questioning, I shared that with my pastor, and he answered with wisdom, “Sandy, our definition of great and God’s definition are not always the same.” In keeping with the above story…”Things aren’t always what they seem.”

Since Mike’s sudden departure, many of my writings have being flung around the world via the internet. The night before Mike “moved to Heaven”, he and I were talking about the impact the internet could have on people through the writing ministry that was at that time just a “seed” in my heart. He encouraged me for 8 years before he died to transpose the things he had faithfully watched me pen in journals…to the web…yet I never did until AFTER his “Homegoing”. His influence was great upon me in many ways. A dear pastor from Oklahoma wrote to me a few days after Mike died saying, “What two began…one will complete.”
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“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us….for we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. And not only they, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption , the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do see, then we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

“Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we KNOW that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:18, 22-28)

We are to rest in God’s Hands…trusting Him.  That is what we must always do when things happen that we do not understand nor would choose in the “natural.”

“God is Spirit…and they that worship Him MUST worship Him in spirit and in truth, “ John 4:24 The truth is….”Things are NOT always what they seem.”

Continuing to look unto Jesus…even when things seem to take a turn we would not choose…

Sandy

From the time I was a child, I have always liked working on jigsaw puzzles. One of our family traditions was to receive a puzzle at Christmas and spend some of the cold January days putting it together. Ironically, my January of 1996 lasted a long fifteen months into March of 1997. During those months I put together four, two thousand piece puzzles; two, one thousand piece ones; and six, five hundred piece ones! That was approximately 13,000 pieces in all to sort and find the exact place for each piece. It was a daunting task, but contained many life lessons that proved to be a blessing for me.

I had an inner drive to “put them together”, take them apart and “put them together” again! My prayer life suffered during that broken hearted time because I could not clearly hear the Voice of God. I did a lot of thinking and sorting between my head and my heart in that season, however. It was as if I was searching for something…for answers. I spent many quiet hours of comforting solitude searching and watching for pieces, for patterns, for color, for shape. There were puzzles within puzzles, thoughts within thoughts. I stayed up late many long dark nights sitting with the puzzles…pondering, driven by the desire to see pieces and patterns come together and fit! I was consumed in watching the big picture come together before my eyes, knowing that it was made up of many bits and pieces, each one contributing to the overall whole.

I would work until I could no longer find a fit and then move on to another area of the puzzle, knowing I could come back to that which eluded me at the time. My family humored my love for puzzles. I probably seemed to them like an “old woman escaping reality”, only for me, the puzzles had a reality of their own. God was sorting, carefully turning over and over the little bits and pieces of information, belief, and concepts I had gathered throughout my life one by one. He was repairing and healing, reforming and fashioning a new understanding within me that was balanced; and when I emerged from this searching time, I no longer hung onto the extreme edges and fringes of faith in God.

A change of seasons was taking place in my life. I had already moved some ten years back from the child-rearing years of vitality into the mid-life bridge of transition. At age 50, I was beginning to cross into the golden years of reflection where I had the opportunity to see my life converge in every area and relation into one of godly balance and divine order. I had to relax….let the answers (pieces) come gently. So it was with the new rhythm developing in my life. The new rhythm emerged, and it was as steady as a heartbeat. It couldn’t be forced, but when I relaxed, trusted, and listened carefully, I could connect with it…this new rhythm of life.

I was learning more about love…God’s way, from His perspective and His viewpoint. God had spoken to me through the author, Melonie Beattie, “Loving isn’t for the faint. It is for the courageous.” For me, that meant being willing to continue to love even in the face of pain. Learning to be present in each moment and not escape and run and hide. In our living God, we can find and choose joy, a joy not dependent on outer circumstances, but one that come from the heart, a heart united with and committed to God and His way, His truth, and His life. This joy is deeper than surface happiness in “getting our own way” in most things.

Beattie’s words had taught me well. She had said to “Relax. Stop staring so hard at the details of the pattern. Look for the reflection of something else, and while you focus on that reflection, the real picture will emerge.” The process was similar to the new computer “dot art” in which one sees a confusing maze of dots and swirls; but upon focusing behind the surface at which one is looking, a depth, deeper into the picture, a new level begins to emerge showing a rich dimensional true picture and concept…like reality of the spirit kind, including hidden images and deeper insights!

Such thoughts and perspectives were swirling about me. Some of them that I “borrowed” from Beattie’s experience were painfully familiar to me in this unique juncture of life. They were like familiar friends or acquaintances of circumstances past; but at that time, they shined the light of God’s wisdom and truth along my own dimly lit way.

How is it that one can walk in the light as He is in the light and somehow still fall through a hole, a gap in the wall and suddenly find one’s self separated from light and clarity? It was as if I was swallowed up in the darkness of confusion and despair, a place of unfamiliarity, a place of hurt and pain. Yet I knew that I was where I was supposed to be…for the time being, in God’s providential care, and that I would come out on the other side. And by my 50th birthday in March of 1997, I came, once again, into the light and Presence of the Lord. I could “hear” His Voice once again, and how precious is was to my heart.

Looking unto Jesus,

Sandy

 

“He (God) reveals deep and secret things;  He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him….there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets….Truly…God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a Revealer of secrets,”   Daniel 2:22, 28, & 47

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law,” Deuteronomy 29:29

“The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant,” Psalms 25:14

Who among us does not want to know the “secret” to life?  Such longing is built within us; for our Omniscient Lord who knows all things…has insights to give to us.  He wants to show us His covenant…His agreements and provisions.  These are things He has prepared for His people that fear Him.  He wants to entrust these important things to us so that we can pass them on to the next generation that we may all understand His desire for us to walk in His ways and thus represent Him before a world of people lost in darkness and sin.

Forty seven years ago in 1964, Eleanor Walton, a precious woman of God who taught me then as a teenage girl, gave me the Christian classic called “The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life” written by Hannah Whitall Smith.  She simply inscribed:  “To Sandy,  From Mrs. Walton.  August 9, 1964, Matthew 7:7-8.”  This book was kept for 11 years before it was read by me. Though much change came in those years, I could never part with the book and always knew it had a significant message for me.  Upon reading it at age 28 as a young wife and mother,  my life changed and I could begin to understand and realize personally the “unsearchable riches of Christ” Paul wrote about in Ephesians 3 8.  He went on to write that the words the Lord had given to him were “to make all people see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ,” (verse 9)

Secret things are “hidden”.  They are things which are known by God but not know to us…yet He is a Revealer of secrets to those who fear Him….and to those who seek Him.  “Seek the Lord which He can be found. Call upon Him while He is near..for My thoughts are not you thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts ,” Isaiah 55:6 & 8-9

“Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For every who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened,” Matthew 7:7-8.  Mrs. Walton knew the “secret”.  She was one who “knew Him” and “worshipped Him in spirit and in truth“. Philippians 3:10; John 4:24. And she knew that the only way to find the “secret” was to search for it… to seek Him.  She pointed me in the right direction…and then stood behind me in prayers of faith.  Miss Eleanor is in Heaven, now; but I owe her so very much and long to see her again in my own heavenly future…to give her thanks for passing the “secret” on to me.  She knew that if I would “seek”…I would “find” because of God’s promise.

I will write out the words of the “secret”; but for each individual, they will only remain “words” until a person “seeks Him with their whole heart” .  The true revelation of it will always allude the one who refuses to surrender with his/her entire heart to the Master and to His ways.  Search your heart to see if you have truly done that.  He cannot heal a broken or a self-centered heart…unless He has all the pieces. Do not hold on to any part…refusing to allow it to be touched by the Master.

The secret to a “happy Christian life” is…… to pivot on God and allow Jesus to have full authority in your life.  He must be at the center of your heart as Lord of your life rather than self being on the throne of your heart.   When that decision is made and implemented, the secret applied will produce a “happy” Christian life; and even though “sorrow and suffering and disappointments”  may be a part of living on this earth, the life lived will be a journey of joy in the Lord.

Nothing in my life has ever had more impact than seeking the Lord with my whole heart…and finding Him; for out from that has come a real and meaningful relationship and fellowship with Him, complete with the ability to “hear His Voice”…walking and talking with Him throughout life.  I cannot imagine trying to navigate through the past 36 years of life without Him, the Chief Shepherd; for He not only “knows” the way… He IS the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  I have “found” HIM…who my soul doth love!

One Sunday as I sat in church, I watched a young woman make her way to the altar. As she surrendered yet more of herself to Him, He wrapped His loving arms around her…she melted into those warm Arms…and she realized the wonder of being received by a Heavenly Father who changes not!  What security, what peace….what provision for those who truly…. surrender all!

There is no real true fellowship or life with Him…apart from this.  What are you holding on to apart from God?  Whatever or whoever it is…it is not worth the immense joy you will lose if you do not willingly let it go…and receive Him in its place!

 

“Jesus said, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important:  ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the other commandments are based on these two commandments,’”     Matthew 22:37-40

There are relationships we each have to face in life…the relationship with God and with others.  We will never be able to truly fulfill them unless we look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. For there must be appropriate love in these  relationships if we are to fulfill the design and purpose of God.  After all, it is Him we serve and His Kingdom we represent. It must be done on His terms and for His sake. We are not our own, but have been bought with a price. He sets the standard of love, and He changes not. The proof of maturity is the relational evidence of His standard of love found in our lives. Jesus said that the world would know that we are Christians, by the love we demonstrate. That is what we are distinguished by, for love never fails; and His standard has never lowered.

THIS demonstration of His love is Christian maturity. THIS is definitely looking unto Jesus and following in His footsteps. His was a life and ministry of honest, honorable humility. His character was pure. His behavior was characterized by integrity and holiness – full of grace and truth. His actions were timely and marked by wisdom that is from Above. His expression of love honored and welcomed others. His life was one laden with the fruit of righteousness. He was holy in all His conduct. This is the one we are to look unto. He called His people of old to this, and He calls the same things to us today; for Jesus Christ is the same……yesterday, today, and forever! (Hebrews 13:8)

Maturity is not age, an amount of knowledge, nor a grasp of factual information. Rather it is how we live our lives in relation to God  and people – the most precious of all God’s creation.

Do we live it in the fullness of His love and purity, or do we live it unchanged, selfishly pursuing our own desires and dreams apart from Him? Search your heart. Honestly see where your choices and commitments have positioned you. Are you looking to self and success in the culture around you, or are you looking unto Jesus?

Have you ever wondered in THIS life, how dependent ARE we on situations, systems, arrangements, relationships, and mechanisms that are in place in our lives?  We have relationships that are here one day…gone the next.  Jobs and finances that are here one day…gone in an instant due to economy.  Visions,  dreams , and plans that we are working on one day…and then they  are “unplugged”  or “short-circuited” with the words of a person in a position of authority…or the stroke of a pen!  Here today…gone tomorrow! Often, suddenly, and without warning!

Blows to the stability of our lives.  Dismantling of the socio-economic structures that are in place around us.  While we have some things “in place”…we don’t realize how dependent we are upon them…until they are instantly….GONE! And then we see how fragile things really are.

And the disappointment of it all! How to deal with the emotional upheaval and re-organization of things we were counting upon and the loss of things we were planning in the “light” of.

Yet will I REJOICE in the Lord!  I will JOY in the God of my salvation!

In the Old Testament, Habakkuk  knew something of this when he penned…”Though the fig tree does not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vine.  Though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; Though the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls…YET will I REJOICE in the Lord.  I WILL JOY in the God of my salvation!”

“The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills!”  Habakkuk 3:17-19

I was meditating on this truth last Fall….AND THEN…SUDDENLY, the “heat and pressure” of the HOT IRON bore down on my life, as my good “part time” job suddenly came to a screeching halt…in the MIDST of a very productive period! Lives were being touched.  Relationships were being formed…and SUDDENLY…lightning struck!  Funds dried up, and the loss came…without warning!  Within my being, there must have been some “wrinkles” of depending upon material things, mechanisms, and concrete expectations He wanted to “press” out of me!  But because I had been “there” before, I quickly realized the situation for what it was.

One temptation was DESPAIR!  Such a state is NOT the way for God’s people; for it is laced with FEAR…the opposite of FAITH!  Such “tests” are times to yield yourself to His heavy iron of “heat and pressure” and simply and purely begin to PRAISE the Lord in the midst of the situation!

YET will I REJOICE in the Lord!  I WILL JOY in the God of my salvation!!!

This is God’s antidote for the hurt and disappointments that come with such losses! He “understands”…and He is “touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but He is also mindful of how crucial it is that we OBEY HIM in the face of “tests and trials”…if we want to PASS them and get on with HIS agenda for our lives!!!

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.  For as the rain comes down , and the snow from Heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;  It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

“For you shall go out with JOY and be led out with PEACE; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.  Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree, and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”  Isaiah 55: 10-13

We belong to a God who IS our Provider, our covering, our Source, our Husband…our everything!!! He is not ignorant of the situations of our lives and He has said in His Word that “ALL THINGS work together for GOOD to those who love God and are called according to His purpose,”  Romans 8:28

SO….SETTLE IT!  “Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart…and lean NOT to your own understanding”. Proverbs 3:5

This is the action of one who has chosen to follow Him in full surrender…one day, one step at a time as situations – good and bad – present themselves to you.  That done, you will be in a position to REJOICE in the Lord and JOY in the God of your  salvation!!!

Then…regardless of what comes or goes, you can confidently say…”IT IS WELL…WITH MY SOUL!”

Matthew 14:22-32 and Mark 7:45-56 recount the story of Jesus walking on water.  The Matthew incident inserts the account of Peter, in his typical brashness, called to Him, ” Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water!”  Jesus issued the power-filled word, “ Come!” which would have carried Peter safely into Jesus’ arms, BUT WHEN (he took his eyes OFF of “looking to Jesus” and responding to His powerful word), he “saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified (filled with fear) and began to sink, crying, ‘SAVE ME, LORD!”  Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him.   ‘You have so little faith.  Why did not doubt Me?‘” (This is what happens when we move our gaze AWAY from Jesus!!!   Our faith becomes small.)

The scriptures in Matthew 14 go on to say that “when they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped!”   It would be fair to assume that Peter’s eyes were FIXED on Jesus, His Savior once they were reunited!!!   When God’s power is present…and when we have received His help…and received His person, looking once again at Him…the “storm” will stop!   The calm will return.

The best “storm sense” you can have is this:  Keep your eyes ever on Jesus.   Before…during…and after the storms of life! He WILL carry you through!

We all come in and out of “stormy” times in our lives.  Thankfully, I personally happen to be in a peaceful time of calm at the moment; but having spent almost 15 years in Kansas, I have learned that “weather patterns” can change suddenly.  One must always have an “ear” to the “Weatherman”, Jesus, and be watching and prepared …listening much Him so one can “know” what to do when particular “storms” come.   As we are faithful to “take cover” under the shadow of His Wings, we can be assured that regardless of what comes our way…His promises of protection and provision are ours for the asking.   Stay close to Him, for He is our “shelter”!

One reason many are not in a position to “hear” what the Spirit is saying to them personally is because they are distracted by the activity and “storms” that are going on in the lives of those around them.  Sometime, we can be affected by the storms in other’s lives…especially if we are closely connected to them by family ties, friendship, working relationships, or even neighbors; but God does not release us from our own personal daily responsibility to “come unto Him, look to Him, listen to Him” to receive rest for our souls.  Matthew 11: 28-30.

“Storm sense” tells us to always fix our eyes on Jesus and not become “externally referenced” to the degree that we lose our peace with Him just because others we are closely tied to in life are not looking to Him.  Because we love and care for others, sometime we find we go to “extremes” to attempt to “fix” their problems.  Of course we are to faithfully stand with loved ones in their personal tests and trials and “be there” for them in the midst of their “storms”; but in doing so, we are to guard against taking our eyes off Jesus personally and getting them onto others or their circumstances.   None but Jesus can SAVE….and if no one is “looking to Jesus”…then all will sink!!

I recall times in my own life when I allowed myself to become so distracted by the activity and storms of others that I failed to “hear” what My Father was saying to me personally.   These things became distractions to my spirit, and they threw me off.  I became swallowed up in the winds and waves that were assailing them. People experience many extreme situations; and I have been guilty of absorbing their pain, their unsettledness, their confusion rather than personally looking steadfastly to Jesus, seeking Him, and carefully following what He has to say.   So as others found themselves in the “extremes and dangers” of life, sometimes not being faithful to look to Jesus for themselves, I allowed that to “color” my inward peace.   As they struggled, I struggled with them, noticing their situations, thinking about them too much, experiencing what they were feeling to a point that caused me to become “distracted” from my personal “look” to Jesus; and it broke my focus on precious truth that the Lord had revealed to me and was expecting me to continue to walk in.   Beware of this temptation.

We know that the scriptures tell us that Jesus is “touched” by the feeling of our infirmities (Hebrews 4:15); and we, too, as humans can understand and identify with the weaknesses and frailties that take place around us, but we must not allow ourselves to become absorbed in them.   We must stand in faith in the midst of “storms”…ours or other’s.  We can only do that by “keeping our eyes on Jesus”…keeping our thoughts turned focused, and fixed upon Him and His Truth day by day.   “He will keep those in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon Him,” Isaiah 26:3

As a young Christian, I recall the deep influence of one of my Sunday School teachers, “Miss Eleanor”.  She was a godly woman who knew what it was” to keep her mind stayed upon Him”, for it showed in all aspects of her life.  She faithfully taught a little band of girls age, 12-14, back in the late 50′s and early 60′s, and her living witness impacted me profoundly in so many ways.  

One included her behavior in the midst of what was surely one of the most terrible “storms” in her personal life as a mother.  Her youngest son, (about 18 at the time), died instantly in a tragic car accident just outside of our small Georgia town.  My father was a Deacon in our church, and it fell to him to go, along with the Pastor, to tell Miss Eleanor and her husband the tragic news.   He came home describing, in awe, that as they broke the terrible news to them, Eleanor instantly fell to the floor in deep heart pain, but immediately jumped back up…and looked up to God, calling upon His Name for His love and peace to cover her family.   Her face shone with the presence of God. I know this precious saint suffered greatly as a mother in grief, but I also, know that from the first moment she heard of her grievous situation, she made a crucial decision to immediately “look to Jesus” for His peace that so mightily gives strength to all in the midst of the “storm”. What a witness!   I have never forgotten it.  I also credit Miss Eleanor and another teacher of the same character and commitment to Jesus, Miss Winnie, for loving me to Jesus and teaching me the truth of His ways as a young teenager by LIVING their faith…not just speaking of it!

I have cried out to God many times (even in the face of the death of my precious husband almost 11 years ago) to not live and abide in the “extremes” of pain and loss and hurt and disappointment, (my own or other’s), but to resist it in His Name and Power, humble myself before Him in the face of such things, and pray for the wisdom to know the difference between “storms” I need to rebuke, due to the panic and fear of those in the boat with me…or which “storms” I am to “walk over” by focusing my thoughts upon Jesus.

“Storm sense!   Lord, give me the SIGNAL from within my spirit in the midst of a storm, whenever one may come. In the midst of deep trials, tests, hurts, grief, disappointments, perils and dangers, we are to look to Him for the joy, the confidence, the wisdom, the understanding and the peace to walk purposefully through it!     AND in the calm times, the sunny days.  Not to lose my focus in the sun or the rain, not to look to the left or the right, but to ever and always…keep my eyes firmly fixed upon Jesus…from Whom my help comes!”

“Storm sense“  tells us to “keep our minds stayed upon Him,”   for “Jesus Christ is the SAME…yesterday, today, and forever!”  Hebrews 13:8

He is the Rock. Steady.  He changes NOT!

Looking unto Jesus through the storms!

Sandy

1 a : a disturbance of the atmosphere marked by wind and usually by rain, snow, hail, sleet, or thunder and lightning b : a heavy fall of rain, snow, or hail c (1) : wind having a speed of 64 to 72 miles (103 to 117 kilometers) per hour (2) : a serious disturbance of any element of nature
2 : a disturbed or agitated state <storms of emotion> : a sudden or violent commotion
3 : a heavy discharge of objects (as missiles)
4 : a tumultuous outburst <a storm of protests>
5 : a sudden heavy influx or onset
6 : a violent assault on a defended position

From Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)

Springtime in the Midwest and South is a season of fierce storms.  Tornados spin out of control across the plains of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and the nearby states.  Forecasters have named this area “tornado alley”, and one of the fiercest storms of history (a category 5 tornado) just rolled through Joplin, Missouri and almost wiped it off the map!  Late last month, a similar tornado outbreak slammed through Alabama and the South killing over 312 people in one day! The devastation is heartbreaking! The losses are stupendous!  These people need our prayers, support, and helping hands to get their lives back together.

Sometimes, the literal presence of the physical storm unleashed many other types of “storms” in our lives, physical, emotional, and spiritual…for “storms” represent times of trouble.

Psalm 107 speaks of times of trouble and distress, and we are to cry out to God in these times.  “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress.  He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live,”   Psalm 107:6-7  Four times in this Psalm they cried out, “Lord, help!” in some very dark and gloomy situations through which they suffered. Our Lord wants us all to have enough “storm sense”…to know we must cry out to Him when storms come; for in the Name of Jesus, only, comes salvation.  When He comes upon the stormy scenes of our lives, His rescue will come as we look to Him to learn how to navigate through such times. Sometimes we can rebuke it…and sometimes we must walk on troubled waters and come through it as we keep our eyes focused on Him.

The stories about the experiences of Jesus’ life teach us so much about how each of us are to live our life by taking our lead from Him.   Jesus was one who had “storm sense”.  He knew exactly what to do, what to say in the midst of life’s storms. Why?   Because He had been with His Father, the Omniscient One. He spent real time in the Presence of His Father, watching Him, observing His ways, listening to words of wisdom and instruction from the One who is “all knowing”.   Remember, the scriptures teach that Jesus only “did what He ‘saw’ His Father do” and He only “said what He ‘heard’ His Father say .

As we take our lead from that, then we, too, must spend “meaningful time in the Presence of the Father” to learn this “storm sense” and know what to do when they come into our circumstances and into the circumstances of those about us. Many times, lives depend upon our having “storm sense” and hearing from the Lord how to navigate through the troubling events of our present day.

In Luke 8:22-25 (NLT) we read of the account that tells of Jesus taking a nap in a boat with his disciples when “ a fierce storm came down on them.  The boat was filling with water and they were in real danger!  The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, ‘Master, Master, we are going to drown!’   When Jesus woke up, He rebuked the wind and the raging waves.  The storm stopped and all was calm.  Then He asked them…’Where is YOUR faith?’ “

Jesus is teaching us that as we live by real faith in Him, we, too, can rebuke the wind and raging waves and calm will return….even from a disturbed or agitated state < storms of emotion> : a sudden or violent commotion: or a tumultuous outburst <a storm of protests>: a sudden heavy influx or onset or a violent assault on a defended position.   These things often wrap around very real and personal situations in life; but God-like faith has a realness to it…it is a tangible quality that, due to its source, has the power to rebuke the wind and calm the raging waves of life.

Hebrews 12:1 tells us that faith is the “evidence”  of what we hope for…and who of us does not “hope” to be delivered from the danger and distress in the storms that come?   Faith is to follow our hope, but we must have this spiritual “evidence” in our lives if we are to either rebuke and storms and see the calm return. Jesus did…and His actions are our example.  Take His lead, for He is our Savior.

One of the greatest experiences recorded in the Bible is the story of Jesus walking on the water of a storm and calling his disciple, Peter, to walk to Him on the water.   The only way this could be possible was if Peter kept his eyes riveted on Jesus.  Looking to Jesus, steadfastly, in the midst of the impossible was taking place, not on a sunny day in June, but in the midst of a fierce storm…and it was nighttime, to boot!!!   Impossibilities…danger…unstable waves raising and falling, fierce, howling winds…and in black, wet, cold, darkness!!!  In all these fearsome things, we are to keep our eyes FIXED on Jesus!   

Life is full of storms.  They come, many times without warning, but they do come. God “sounds the alarm” about these storms…sometimes long in advance.   We must be “listening”, so that we can have, deep within our souls, a preparedness, a “sense” about these storms… a  ”sense” of trust in Him as to how to navigate each one.  Should we do as Jesus did in some instances and rebuke each of them…hoping for calmer times, or are we to (gulp) “walk on the dangerous, unstable water” and pray we don’t sink?

ONLY GOD KNOWS what we are to do in each “storm” of life!

ONLY GOD HAS THE POWER to bring forth an outcome that will save us in the face of them.

ONLY GOD can equip us to have the particular “sense” we need for each one.

TRUST HIM!  TRUST in His warnings about the dangers and distresses of life.

Make the decision to look to Him and obey Him…BEFORE they come, for they will come.

Be armed, ready, and fully committed to do whatever HE tells you to do in the midst of the storm.

Fear not! God has spoken…long before ANY of this has befallen you!

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.  I have called you by name; you are Mine.   When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.  When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.   When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.  For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.   I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom;  I gave Ethiopia and Seba in your place.  Others were given in exchange for you.   I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me.  You are honored, and I love you.  Do not be afraid, for I am with you! “  Isaiah 43:1-5 NLT

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean NOT to your own understanding (of storms, waves, dangers, outbursts);  Acknowledge Him in all your ways, and He SHALL direct your path,” Proverbs 3:5-6

Remembering again the cries and promises from Psalm 107:

“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.”

~  He led them straight to safety to a city where they could live….

~ He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; He snapped their chains….

~ For He broke down their prison gates of bronze; He cut apart their bars of iron…

~ He sent His word and healed them, snatching them form the door of death…

~ He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves.   What a blessing was that stillness as He brought them safely into harbor!

 (verses 7,14,16,20,29-30)

May your “storm sense” include knowledge of the promises He has made for those who will look to Him and cry from their heart, putting their trust in Him rather than themselves or the circumstances around them!  Our God is a God of provision!  He does not leave us dangling.   Those who are faithful and obedient to trust and acknowledge Him, have a promised outcome.

Matthew 14:22-32 and Mark 7:45-56 recount the story of Jesus walking on water.  The Matthew incident inserts the account of Peter, in his typical brashness, called to Him, ” Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water!”  Jesus issued the power-filled word, “ Come!” which would have carried Peter safely into Jesus’ arms, BUT WHEN (he took his eyes OFF of “looking to Jesus” and responding to His powerful word), he “saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified (filled with fear) and began to sink, crying, ‘SAVE ME, LORD!”  Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him.   ‘You have so little faith.  Why did not doubt Me?‘” (This is what happens when we move our gaze AWAY from Jesus!!!   Our faith becomes small.)

The scriptures in Matthew 14 go on to say that “when they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped!”   It would be fair to assume that Peter’s eyes were FIXED on Jesus, His Savior once they were reunited!!!   When God’s power is present…and when we have received His help…and received His person, looking once again at Him…the “storm” will stop!   The calm will return.

The best “storm sense” you can have is this:  Keep your eyes ever on Jesus.   Before…during…and after the storms of life! He WILL carry you through!

“The tongue is a flame of fire…and so blessing and cursing pour out of the same mouth.  Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!”  James 3: 6 & 10

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer!”  Psalms 19:14

We often think of oppression only as “harsh and unjust hardships”…thus overlooking common, daily behavior between family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers that may fall into this behavioral category which our Lord says is a real….problem.  He calls it a sin, and He says that His people are not to be found doing it.  We are not be  ”oppressors”….people who mistreat and hurt others, inflicting pain and unjust burdens upon others.

In our world today, a tremendous number of people walk around with great hurt.  Much of it is compounded and multiplied by continued personal abuse between family and friends that never seem to get to the root of the problem…but add to that, our society and culture has become one of negativism and “put-down” where “good is called evil and evil is called good“…and the people seem to “love to have it so”. All of this is “oppressive”.  When it prevails in a relationship, or even in a sudden conversation, it can literally “suck all the air out of the room”….and a deep feeling of anxiety and even fear can well up in the people involved.

Notice the prevailing negative feeling you get the next time you are part of an unpleasant chain of words that are argumentative. Notice when the tone and decibel of sound increases in a heated exchange.  This is oppressive…and like a fire that spreads quickly, it consumes the peace and safety one previously may have felt.  It descends suddenly and leaves in its wake, sorrow and suffering.  It is a form of “mistreatment” and it grieves the heart of God. It has become a prevalent occurrence in our society and the TV media and movies depict it daily with unending demonstrations and enactments of it.  Watching it over and over begins to “sear the consciences” of people; for it comes from deceiving spirits and lies, and it is part of the end-time darkness. We, as God’s people, are to have no part of it.  We are not to be oppressors and be “used” by the enemy to hurt, mistreat, and oppress our brethren…even with our tongue.

“Jesus is touched with the feeling of our infirmities…” Hebrews 4:15

All people, at one time or another, are acquainted with grief, sorrow, pain, hurt, confusion, fear, and anguish. All human beings experience these things in life as a result of many kinds of circumstances in this fallen world.  By the Spirit, we “sense” that our Jesus “understands”…He “knows”, He has been “touched by the feeling of our infirmities (sorrows)”. God is a Comforter, and He has “compassion”…the ability to “suffer WITH us” in our times of need.

People do not like to be “vulnerable”….so they “avoid” those who are.

People do not like to feel “out of control”…so they “avoid” those who are.

People do not like to experience “pain”, so they often “avoid” those who have it.

When we experience a sickness, or have a loved one to die, we often experience a great initial outpouring of “sympathy.” That is the “acceptable” thing to show in society. Sympathy is a good thing…but know that often it is not the same as godly “compassion.” Sympathy will greet us, and offer condolences and make initial contact…but sympathy does not stay for the long haul, throughout the entire grieving process! It only “drops by” for a short while…unwilling to stay during the long night of loneliness into which grief plunges us.

Compassion remains. Compassion goes the distance. And may I add that true compassion can ONLY come from its spiritual Source…Almighty God! Jesus demonstrated it, and the Holy Spirit comes to us today as the Comforter to strengthen us with the enduring gift of it. Yet we must each “humble ourselves” under His mighty hand to “receive it” and allow Him to “work it in us as a permanent part of our character and nature” IN HIM!

 ”…God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.  He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.  When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us,”  2 Corinthians 1:3-4

People who are compassionate cross boundaries in order to help those in need. The boundaries of race, ethnicity, social class, religion, etc., are always a challenge to compassion; however Compassionate people dare to cross such boundaries, even though such actions may be difficult.

Jesus was often accused of violating the boundaries religious authorities held to be virtually sacred. When confronted on the Sabbath by a man with a paralyzed arm, he had compassion and healed the man. This resulted in the accusation that Jesus was a Sabbath breaker and worthy of death. Mark adds the telling comment, “He was grieved at their hardness of heart” (Mark 3:5)

On one occasion Jesus was invited to the home of a Pharisee. A woman in the city, “who was a sinner,” entered and began to wash his feet with her tears and dry them with her hair. In what must have been a tone dripping with self-righteousness, the host said: “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him, – that she is a sinner” (Luke 7:39).  Again Jesus had crossed a boundary and received her ministry to him with tenderness and appreciation and replied: “Her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love.” (Luke 7:47)

 

 

 

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again, the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe (spiritually…not mature, complete) Solid (spiritual) food belongs to those who are of full age (mature), that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

“THEREFORE, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection (maturity), not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment ,” Hebrews 5:11-6:1-3

This passage goes on with an exhortation to maturity for each Christian because this is part of “normal development” and the expectation by God for each of His own. He expects each of us to grow up….to be constantly developing…pursuing Him and learning to live daily by His Spirit that is Holy and righteous. Such spiritual development is the main issue of our “preparation”….for one day, we are to be “presented” to Jesus as the Bride of Christ…and we must make ourselves ready for that point in time.

As His Bride, we, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, must ready ourselves for that intimate and glorious time that we will be “presented” to our Bridegroom. We have been saved by His grace…..but seriously, we must GROW in His grace in preparation for an eternal existence in that holy, glorious, heavenly environment.

“And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises,” Hebrews 6:11-12.

God expects us to live by faith in Him and in His Word…to have patience as referred to in James 1:2-4 because patience…waiting upon the Lord….and learning to wait during our developing period….our eyes and heart set on Jesus as we wait…IN PATIENCE…which is crucial to our mature development and “preparation” for “ruling and reigning for eternity with Christ!”  We are being changed into His same image. He changes not…but WE CHANGE day by day…as we “look to Him” and obey Him in His expectations of us spiritually.

Our Lord knew that we would go through a “preparation” period. It is expected! The Blood of Jesus covered the spot of our sin so that we could come to God…but also, the “wrinkles” of disobedience and ungodliness need to be pressed out as our lives are “made ready” to meet Him to become ONE with Him….to attend the marriage supper of the Lamb…to rule and reign “with Him” eternally! This is a very serious expectation….a holy calling. And as God’s people, we need to not only be aware of this, but also to do all we can to yield to Him moment by moment in the heat and pressures of life so that we be “prepared and ready” for that time to finally be presented to Him!  This is the time to seriously heed God’s Word so that we will not be ashamed at the time of His appearing.