When the Storms of Life are Raging

Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm.       Job 38:1 (NIV)

I said, “Oh that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest –
I would flee far away and stay in the desert;
I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.”         Psalm 55:6-8 (NIV)

Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.            Psalm 107:28-29 (NIV)

The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.              Luke 8:24-25 (NIV)

Tropical Storm/Hurricane Isaac is coming ashore late tonight near or at New Orleans. As I thank the LORD that the storm did not come directly to my hometown in the panhandle of Florida as originally predicted, I am praying for those who will receive the primary fury of this storm. I am sure there are scientific reasons for why the storm moved as it did just as I am sure God has reasons for the storms that come into my life with a fury.

I read some about “storms” in the Bible last night as I watched the wind blow the branches of the trees surrounding my house.

God spoke to Job out of a storm. I think it might be hard to hear someone speaking with the wind howling and the rain beating down. Or maybe when my ears are tuned in like Job’s to God – I can hear His voice like it’s coming through Bose speakers! The point would be whether I am tuned in to the storm or to God.

The psalmist, as usual, expresses my experiences and my heart very well. Right next to the Psalm 55 verses in my Bible I made a notation that in 1998 my phone and my electricity had been turned off. I was divorced and trying to care for my three children and was at the end of my rope. I definitely wanted to “fly away” to some place where there were no bills and responsibilities. But God brought us through. Step by step, day by day, God showed us His power in our storms. I look back and sleeping on a pallet on the floor was some of the sweetest times with my LORD. I truly felt completely helpless and without any options but to trust in Him. I cried out to God and He stilled those storms to a whisper. “How can I say thanks for the things You’ve done for me?” (My Tribute by Andre Crouch, )

Arguably the most famous Biblical storm was the one that Jesus slept through until the terrified disciples woke Him up! He answered their cry and subdued the violent storm and then asked, “Where is your faith?” “Well, Jesus, I think I misplaced it.” When I misplace something, I go to the place where I last remembered having it. Or maybe I ask someone where they keep their faith. Jesus implies that just a bit of faith is all I need. I don’t have to have all the answers or understand deep theology – just know to whom to cry out! He is there, the Creator of all, including storms, can handle all the howling winds and slashing waves.

Stand By Me written by Charles A. Tindley (1905) sung by Willie Nelson