Christian Living
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A month ago, Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 storm slammed into Texas bringing catastrophic flooding and widespread damage. Not too long after that Hurricane Irma, battered the low-lying Florida Keys, continued up the northwestern coast of Florida, headed toward Georgia and slammed the tiny island of Barbuda, St. Martin, Anguilla and parts of the British Virgin Islands. Thousands have lost their homes, businesses, vehicles and belongings in what officials are calling one of the worst flooding disasters in recent U.S. history. Not only has the hurricane destroyed property but it’s had tremendous effect on the lives of people especially those who have lost loved ones.
It’s like they’ve had a sudden attack on their lives which they were not prepared for. It didn’t cause a disturbance only in the lives they had built for themselves but it had taken away their joy and peace, clouding their hearts with fear of how they were going to put their back lives together. Sorrow filled their heart as they ventured to put their lives in order though not all things lost can be replaced. The lives of dear ones stripped away from them is a wound created by this storm which will take a long while to heal. Suddenly, the bright morning sky makes visible all they had lost and all the work they had to get done while the evenings escalate their fears and worries. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma were not just storms caused by a disturbance in the weather, they were storms which had caused a disturbance in the lives of thousands of people.
Why would God allow it, that is a question we could dwell on but a much more important question is if God can be glorified through it? This is what we know, a God who has authority over the seas and has the power to command it to act in ways that can’t be completely understood by men is more than able to calm that storm. He has the power to calm the storm on the seas and that in the lives of His people. Storms can hit at anytime and God sometimes prepare us for the storms in our lives like in the case of Noah but sometimes He doesn’t like in the case of Job. However, in both cases we see the wisdom of the Most High God. He has His ways and reasons which means we trust in His wisdom rather than dwelling on the whys. There are a few things we have to understand. In situations where we feel like we are not prepared, we would be surprised to find that the Lord had prepared us for different kinds of storms in our lives. The preparation is mostly centred not on how to avoid the storm but how to go through it. And that is what we find God doing with Noah, build the ark and gather the food not so that you escape the torrential rains that is going to destroy everything but rather to be sustained through the storm. Noah was saved from perishing as everything was blotted out, ever wonder about all the undesirable and life-threatening things the Lord washes away with the storm He allows?
We are to quit comparing ourselves to others when we go through storms as Christians. It is our hope that our brothers and sisters going through the aftermath of the hurricanes and other “storms” will understand this. There is no need to rob ourselves of joy by focusing on what others still have because as people we all have different paths, different storms at different times. It is our duty as Christians going through different storms to make other people see the beauty in the storm. To be able to do this there are a couple of things we need to be cautious about.
The first is knowing that reactions matter. How we react to the storms we face tell others about our faith in God. People are always watching to see Jesus in us and frankly trusting in God and having His peace is a better choice than fussing over the situation. There is one thing that is certain, which is this, the storms sift out our treasures. It shows us and other people what our treasure really is. There is a reason why the Bible tells us what treasure to keep because storms can rob us of earthly treasures. There is no storm however that can take away the most precious treasure which is Jesus. Our reactions will speak a lot about this treasure and draw others to desire Him. Our continued obedience to the Lord can open the door for the Lord to work in others. There is beauty in having the storm draw people to God as in the case of Jonah (Jonah 1: 14-16). And even more beauty as we are drawn closer to the Lord in the yearning to take steps of faith which we would otherwise not have taken as in the case of Peter (Matthew 14: 28-30). Because when we decide on a reaction of trust instead of anger we begin to see God in a way which we have not known before and find that He is stirring our hearts towards a more victorious HolySpirit filled walk with Him.
The Second is avoiding the temptation to sleep. It is interesting to find that people who slept in the midst of the storm are always woken up to help calm the storm. The Sailors woke Jonah up (Jonah 1:6) and the disciples woke Jesus up (Matthew 8: 25). Sleeping in this case is described as the inability to take action. If you sleep, you drown and we are sometimes tempted to do that because its too difficult a situation to bear. We either want to ignore the situation, pretend that its not there or simply give up. In both situations we find that taking action required calling out to God and trusting in His power and faithfulness. In doing this you need to recognise who you are, the God you serve and who is with you. The storm will cause you to ask these questions and like Jonah you would have to realise the situation, call out the God you serve which then defines who you are and then like the disciples recognise you are walking with, which is Jesus. Then you call on the Lord to come to your rescue (Jonah 2) boldly going before the throne of grace, praying in the authority granted by Christ as you recognise and acknowledge that authority. Now you rise up with faith in God speaking and living out His word concerning that situation because the word of God is true and has power. Salvation comes by calling on the name of the Lord (Jonah 2: 9) and recognising the power God has deposited in us to triumph over every situation. Living this way spring forth beauty in the storm because we paint a beautiful picture in the midst of the chaos as we walk boldly through it.
And this is the picture other people including us begin to see, God’s presence, greatness, authority, love, faithfulness, grace, mercy and power shown through our lives. A God who strengthens His people and shows that He is in control of all things filling hearts with joy and peace that surpasses understanding. We see that God has been and is all these and more, in the past, now in the storm and will be in the future. He never changes and we can trust in His faithfulness. This is a beautiful picture to put out there. It’s even more beautiful when He shows Himself in all these ways through the lives of His called and chosen. As we saw during Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, Jesus’ hands and feet moving through the chaos to show Jesus’ love to all. Individuals, churches and organisations such as Samaritans purse, Convey of hope, Food for the Poor, Matthew 25 ministries, Christian Aid ministries and others showing us that there can be beauty in the storm because Jesus is right in the midst, being who He is, a loving God.
He does not abandon us. He is always present, walking with us through the toughest times, touching and loving us with a big heart. The presence of God the Father, Jesus the Son of the Father, the HolySpirit working through His chosen and called to accomplish a mission which draws men to Himself through love, ultimately bringing Him glory in the midst of chaos is true beauty.
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