"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I
will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain
descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it
did not fall, for it was founded on the rock." (Jesus talking in Matthew
7:24-25)
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble...
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the
spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire." (Psalm 46:1, 9)
With all the crazy weather we've had in my area lately, I've been
reminded of how the concept of "storms" is a nifty analogy indeed. (I
snapped the above photo in my church's parking lot a few days ago.) Living
through a weather storm can be a great way
to learn how to survive a life storm.
For example, sometimes the best way to survive a (physical) storm is to
just take shelter and stay there. Rainy downpours are merciless, sometimes
dangerous, and they won't stop until they're good and ready. Why drench yourself
running through the sky-waterfall or kill yourself driving through the floods?
Just wait until it lets up a bit before proceeding with caution.
Similarly, if you know that a (life) storm is raging all around
you, just find your Shelter (God) and stick with Him. Some circumstances just
need time to run their course. Why kill yourself by leaving your Shelter and
trying to conquer the trials all by yourself? You won't make it unless you
cling to God and follow His directions as closely as possible.
"The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going
and pay the penalty." (Proverbs 22:3 AND 27:12, NIV)
You can tell a lot about a person by the way they handle a storm. Do
they ignore the warning signs, trek through life as if nothing were wrong, and
then wonder why their life is falling apart? Do they crumble during a crisis
and disappoint the people around them? Or do they look for their Shelter, find
help from people they trust, and surf through the storm like a pro? Or do they look
for their Daddy's lap and snuggle into it and let Him hold them until the storm
is over?
Several years ago, I was visiting my birth parents, and we all went out
shopping. Dad was feeling ill, but he finally experienced excruciating pain
that brought our excursion to a halt. Unfortunately, I discovered that day that
Mom was useless during a crisis. While Mom was driving us home and Dad was
literally writhing in pain, I urged her to find a hospital; just turn on the
emergency lights and look for a sign with a blue "H." It turned out
that Dad had a kidney stone that kept him in the hospital for a couple of days.
They complained about not having taken him to a hospital that was closer to the
house, but I think perhaps if someone had taken charge of the situation sooner,
maybe they could have made a decision sooner in that regard. Why let your
circumstances (or the people around you) make your decisions for you?
You can also tell who's close to you by the way they're there for you
during your storm. Just as a silly example, I have a relative who lives several
hundred miles away, and they always tell me when it's going to rain in Dallas.
Uh, thank you, but I don't live in Dallas. They often text me and tell me to be
careful because it will be stormy in Dallas... but a frickin' tornado touched
down in my suburb earlier this week, and I didn't hear from them at all. I know
they love me and have very good intentions, but... uh, thank you. Heh.
Lately, while God has continued to bust my paradigm about "quiet
times," He's told me that if I won't hear Him when it's quiet, then I
won't hear Him when it's noisy/fiery/stormy. He's my Shelter. He's my Life
Source. He's my God. I have to hear Him at all times, especially during the
storms, or I'm toast.
I used to have a coworker who visited my church once after I invited
her. I had about one or two conversations with her about God, religion,
etc. She had been to church in her past, and she said that now she would often experience
an "inner peace" that she didn't need a church to help her with. But
she told me that she would rather go to hell where all the fun people are. She
wasn't joking; she was serious. The more I interacted with her, the more
uncomfortable I felt around her. The way in which she conducted her life was ungodly,
codependent/irresponsible, and very dishonest. I asked God if I should keep
inviting her to church. He basically shrugged His shoulders and said, "She
claims she already knows Me." OK, then. Shaking the dust off my feet and
moving on.
All the fun people are in hell? What the heck was she talking about?
Until you've danced with God around your living room with an ABBA song
on your phone and Psalm 76 on your Bible app, you haven't lived. That is my
honest opinion. When I experienced this, Jesus was like, "Jews dance better than Gentiles."
(Because Jesus is Jewish. And I'm a Gentile.) Oh, OK. I see how it is. You know
the King of Kings is your Friend when He starts zinging you. (Kinda reminded me
of all those times that God would dance the tango with me.) Heh.
"And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat
was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him
and awoke Him, saying, 'Lord, save us! We are perishing!' But He said to them,
'Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?' Then He arose and rebuked the
winds and the sea, and there was a great calm." (Jesus doing His thang in Matthew
8:24-26)
Sometimes life's "storms" can come at you really quickly,
with little or no warning: Your boss is yelling at you, your cat is sick, your
emotions are choking your insides to death, you're lonely and depressed, and
all your friends are too busy to hang out with you, much less encourage you.
Who are you going to turn to?
God my Storm-stiller, of course. He's the only One who's always going
to be available to help. He's the only One who's always going to be powerful
enough to stop the storm. He's the One who's most qualified to instruct me
during the storm, whether He has to whisper or yell the instructions to me over
the noise of the winds and the waves. If I don't bond with Him and get to know
Him for who He really is (just by being myself and letting Him be Himself), my
storms could possibly take me out for good.
God is not useless during a crisis. He is the most important Person you
can cling to. And yes, He's fun.
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