It is one PM. My wife Kay has been in surgery for the past hour and a half. Waiting is difficult; yet, how can my mixture of boredom and worry compare to what Kay is dealing with in the next room? This is a storm that has hit me harder than I expected. Intellectually, I know that it is an operation that many
women go through, and, while the aftermath is filled with substantial pain for a number of weeks, usually everything heals up just fine. My mind knows these things, but the storm rages inside anyhow.
The Chinese spell the word crisis with two characters. Individually they mean danger and opportunity. What does Jesus life and teaching tell us about the storms of life? They are normal – to be expected.
I am thinking of Mark 4:35-41. After Jesus had a long period of teaching and healing, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go to the other side.” They got in the boat and Jesus did what many preachers do every Sunday afternoon; He took a nap. Shortly after they were under way, a huge storm started to toss the boat. Water lapped over the sides. Being in a boat for these disciples was about as normal as being in a car is for us. But they were shook. It must have been a huge storm to upset fishermen so. And Jesus was sleeping. I can picture Jesus lying in the stern of the boat on a cushion when water splashed on His face. I imagine he would have looked up, seen the storm and went back to sleep. But the disciples could not believe it. There he lay, sleeping in the midst of the crisis. “Jesus, don’t you care if we perish?”
Jesus got up, faced the storm, and calmed it. Then he turned to face the storm within us all and asked: “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” The mistake they made was that they forgot what Jesus said: “Let’s go to the other side.” When The Lord says we are going to the other side, we are going to the other side.
A friend of mine loves high-tension murder mysteries. When he gets to know a character that he enjoys, he turns to the last chapter of the book and scans the pages looking for that characters name. If he finds it, he can go back to where he was and enjoy the plot development, knowing that his character lives.
Storms, for those of us who have a relationship with Jesus, are very much like this. When we ask Him to be Lord of our lives, He forgives and forgets our past and He secures the future, preparing a place for us when we leave this earth. So with our past forgiven and our future secured, what is a little storm when we are going to the other side. We have read the promise of the last chapter. Our name is written in the book of Life; there is nothing more secure than that.
I have recently come to the conclusion that the storms of life are not only to be expected, but they give us an amazing opportunity that we do not have when we are in quiet waters. I am thinking of a story that a missionary from China shared at a mission conference. He was smuggling Bibles into China many years ago when the punishment for getting caught would have been a long prison sentence. He was on line waiting for the customs agent to inspect his things. One of the trunks was full of Bibles. He watched as the agent carefully went through every bag of the people in line in front of him. He was shook and prayed fervently. “Please God, blind his eyes from seeing your word in my trunk.” When he was second in line, the agent and the man in front of him got into a heated argument. ”Oh, great” he thought. “Now he will be in a bad mood when he gets to me. “Please God Help me.”
When it was his turn, the customs agent was so agitated that he flung open one case, slammed it shut, and told him to take his things and get out of there.
As he walked away, praising God, this question hit him. Why couldn’t he praise God and trust Him while he was still in the line? After experiencing the power, love and faithfulness of God for so many years, why did he need Jesus to calm the storm of difficulty in order for him to have more faith?
Trials for the believer are not happenstance; they are part of God’s gracious plan for good. We fret when the storm comes – just as the disciples in the boat with the Master, and just as I did here in the hospital waiting room. Yet, when we are in the midst of the storm, we have an opportunity to offer God an offering of praise and thanksgiving that can only be offered in the storm which tests our faith, and lets it come out the other side of the storm stronger and more steadfast. (James 1)
The Lord who has forgiven our past and secured our future has given us the opportunity to live boldly in the present with our face to the storm, knowing how it all will end.
Jesus concludes His great sermon on the mount with these words: "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." Matthew 7:24-27
The same rain and wind hits both houses. Notice that God did not imply that he was in front of us protecting us from the storms of life. He never promised to do that. He tells faithful believers to expect the storms. They will come and we will feel the sting of wind whipped rain. We will feel the discomfort. We will feel the feelings of danger. Storms are normal and He will not protect us from them.
However, He does promise that for those of us who hear His word and do it, He is beneath us. He is our all-powerful foundation. He will support us within the storm. The last chapter is written. Our names are there. We live. Praise God.
My current God-given challenge is to trust and praise God while in the storm. It is a fleeting opportunity to express my love and faith to the Lord.
Kay is now recovering very well. She tells me that just before she went out, the anesthesiologist said, “I am giving you this to help you relax..” Then he paused and said; “You are already amazingly relaxed.” and the surgeon said; “You sure are.” They should have checked the waiting room. That is where relaxing was needed. I am grateful God is a loving Father who patiently beckons us to grow up in Him. †
