Monday, March 23, 2009

Faith through the Storm

Luke 8:24-25 "The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master we're going to drown!"  He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.  "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples.  In fear and amazement they asked one another, Who is this?  He commands even the winds and the water and they obey him."

I can't help but think that this was a test.  Jesus proposes that the group go to the other side of the lake and then as he rests his head a storm comes.  Jesus wasn't surprised by the squall that came about them, in fact, He was sleeping through it!!! Notice how our Saviour is afraid of nothing.  I think that is one of the things I love most about him.  When I am afraid what I desire most is to be with someone who is calm.  Someone who comforts me.  Jesus is never fearful and is indeed THE comforter of us all...especially when we're afraid.

Last spring, I was driving home from the school I was working at on a day they were calling for strong storms.  I'm not from the VA area so I wasn't sure what this meant.  I hopped in my car and tried to get home before the storm hit.  Too late... as I drove the sky started to get gradually darker and darker.  I picked up the phone and called my mom who lives in NJ and as the wind picked up and the sky got dark I began to scream to her, "What should I do?  What should I do?"  Then my phone disconnected.   Now here I am fearful and irrational screaming out "Jesus, please don't let me die."  I began to speed down the shoulder of 28 trying desperately to take cover.  The Lord did get me to an exit and safely into the Wegman's grocery store (and kept other safe from my terrible example on the road...with a Messiah College sticker and Jesus fish on the back of my car...don't you love those!) where my husband was able to meet me.  There I stood shaking with fear...so much so that one of the Wegman's employees actually came up to me to check if I was okay.  I stood around the quiet grocery store as people crowded around to look outside and to watch NBC 4 broadcast a tornado warning for our area.  TORNADO warning! What was that?  I had never heard of one of those!  

  Notice while I was driving I immediately called my mom for help.  My mom who lives 5 hours away.  This experience led me through a season of learning to turn to the Lord for help; learning to trust Him.  I was brought low before the throne of God spending my summer going to counseling for a tornado phobia, dealing with panic attacks, and days locked inside b/c I was afraid of the clouds or drizzle and this all b/c I was choosing to trust in myself and not my God.  

The Spring is coming and although the Lord has been working in my heart and no doubt has increased my faith I still get anxious thinking about what my 1st time in a storm will be like. But here is my comfort... my Saviour is not afraid and is indeed in control of the storm.  Not only the literal storms of life but also those seasons of hardship/trial that come and go.  

So here is the question for us all to remember, "Where is your faith?"  My faith used to be in myself and others and the Lord had to take me through a storm and counseling to discover my own self-reliance and fear of accepting his will for my life.  

I hope that today you will ask yourself that question; choosing to humble yourself before God instead of waiting for Him to humble you.  Where is your faith today?  Is it in God or someone or something else?

Remember:"He commands even the winds and the water and they obey Him."  Thank you Jesus!

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