On our last trip to Oklahoma, we got to experience our first tornado warning since buying the farmhouse. Down to the storm shelter, we went to wait out the pounding wind and rain. Our tiny 8×8 underground room designed to keep us safe has only one drawback. It is about fifty yards from our front door. There was a moment we wondered if it was worth the mad dash in the downpour. Then, we remembered the last twister went directly over our home and touched down just a few miles away.
We wrapped up sleeping Baby J and went for it. By the time we were safely down the steps, Paul and I were soaked even under our raincoats. We sat huddled together in the shelter listening to the constant sound of thunder. We could see flashes of lightning through the air vent in the ceiling. The rain pounded on the steel door. Baby J did not even stir.
Once the danger had passed, we made our way back across the yard to the house through the still pouring rain. We slipped our little Miss back into her bed. She had slept right through it all.
As I write this, a picture from a Bible story of Jesus peacefully sleeping on a pillow at the back of the boat during a raging storm comes to mind. He would have slept right through it if the rest of the folks on board hadn’t woke him up with accusations of “Don’t you care that we’re all going to die?”
I think most of us can identify with Jesus’s shipmates. The idea of enjoying peaceful rest in stormy seas seems out of the question. But what did Jesus know that his friends did not?
If we look at what just transpired in the events leading up to blissfully napping in stormy seas [See Mark 4], we see Jesus has been trying to teach them about being all in when it comes to following God. He talks about God’s kingdom and what it looks like. Jesus taught you must be rooted in God and His word, trusting what He says to be true, and allowing it to grow in your life so that it can influence others around you. Something miraculous takes place in a heart that trusts God. Peace replaces fear, and the more we believe Him, the more peaceful our lives become. I have seen this to be true in my own heart as peace rules where fear was once present.
Baby J may not be able to tell us that she trusts her daddy, but her sweet, peaceful sleep during the storm says it all. Our actions will also go a long way in showing others around us where our faith is. Peace is attractive in a world of turmoil, but we have some good news. Let’s let others see how faith in God has changed how we weather storms.
“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13
Want to know more about how to study the Bible?
I, along with a few other Bible teachers, have written a devotional study journal that will guide you in a method of study called SOAK. It will help you look at Scripture, make Observations about what it says, decide what Applications you should make in your own life, and Kneel, deciding to put your trust in God’s word. It also gives you some activities using outside resources on the internet to enhance your learning as well as some devotions that will bring each lesson together. You can find Legacy: Living NOW for Future Generations, A study of Second Timothy on Amazon. Here’s the link.
How is your peace level in the storm?
Are you like the fearful disciples or Jesus who was able to peacefully rest. I have to admit, there have been times I have started out like those disciples with my whole spirit screaming, “Don’t you care that I’m barely hanging on here?” And then there comes a quiet, comforting voice that He is with me and I can count on Him.
God uses what you know about Him from His word to speak to our souls. The trick is to have a lot of it stored up so that you can hear Him clearly when the wind and rain begin to roar. Don’t delay in stockpiling some for yourself. There’s a storm a-brewin’.