"Then a great and powerful storm tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the storm." 1 Kings 19:11 "but when Peter saw the wind, he began to sink." Matthew 14:29 "Jesus rebuked the winds and waves and it became completely calm......Who is this that even the winds and waves obey him?" Matthew 8:26-27
What happens when the storm comes while in the wilderness? To some, the wilderness IS the storm. I've discovered a slightly different storyline. The wilderness is the terrain, the experiences; the storm runs a little deeper. The storm is the weather rolling in and around and crashing against the mountainside. Sometimes it's wind and rain and hail; other times it's the scorching heat of a barren wasteland. I've found this image helpful, for at times I've thought I WAS THE STORM. As the storm rages it becomes next to impossible to find God through the layers of chaos that is the storm. As I'm able to inch my way back from the storm I realize neither God nor I are in the storm. Rather, the storm is all my misguided reactions to the wilderness path; the thoughts and emotions I whip up into a storm as I travel the steep and rugged wilderness road. This is where that yoke of Jesus is so important to teach me how to walk with peaceful, intentional steps as the terrain gets dangerous. The alternative is the storm of anxiety, resentment, despair....hopelessness.
God who speaks to storms, "be still," and they have no choice but to obey, help me back away from the storm to see that my true life is hidden deep in you through Christ. But, as the storms begin to rage, as I know they will, please whisper through the storm that you are with me. I can't continue to take the wilderness steps without this reassurance. Otherwise, like Peter on the sea, I will begin to sink. Amen.
2 comments:
Still walking along with you brother! As I am praying for my Catalyst brothers this morning (3:00-4:00 am shift) I thought about you as our Catalyst event was the first time I met you. I am reminded of my own experience that weekend and the strength I get from not only God, but the community of believers he has chosen to surround me with. You are a blessing to me brother and I offer up to you the theme of Catalyst weekend as I pray it aloud for those there now: Ephesians 3:18-19
"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have the power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge- that you too may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God"
Todd, Amen, Brother. God's love has been, and continues to be manifested in his community of love that envelops me. May we be the catalyst that propels that love into the world.
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