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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: STORM (10/05/17)
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 and Florida. Thousands have lost their homes, businesses, vehicles and belongings. 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. 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? God has His ways which means we trust in His wisdom rather than on the whys. It is our duty as Christians going through different “storms” to make other people see the beauty in the storm. To do this we need to be cautious of two things.



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. 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 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. 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 yearning to take steps of faith which we would otherwise not have taken as in the case of Peter (Matthew 14: 28-30).



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. We are sometimes tempted to sleep because its too difficult a situation to bear. We either want to ignore the situation, live in fear or 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 we 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. Now you rise up in faith in speaking and living out His word concerning that situation. Living this way paints a beautiful picture in the midst of the chaos.



And this is the picture other people including us begin to see as we stay awake, God’s presence, 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. 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 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.



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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This article has been read 364 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Jenny Fulton 
10/12/17
Good job in taking a physical storm and incorporating in spiritual elements. I think this piece could have been more powerful with an illustration of someone who lived out the principles you described.
Loni Bowden-Horn 
10/13/17
Good illustration of tying storms with spiritual aspects of the floods we have had recently.

I may have added a family being affected from the storm.
Larry Whittington
10/13/17
Your thoughts in the last paragraph - the conclusion - was very good. I felt, as I was reading your article, that the body was somehow to long. Say the same thing but just shorter.

Your overall thoughts were excellent.

Keep writing.
Phillip Cimei
10/15/17
Excellent thoughts on the challenge of "Storms". Hopefully those that had encountered those recent catastrophic storms will read this and be blessed by your encouraging words.

I think shorter paragraphs would have made this easier to read. Small bites are easier to swallow.

God bless and look forward to your future work.