The Coming Storm (October 29, 2012)

…Opening To…

Sometimes the Lord rides out the storm with us and other times He calms the restless sea around us. Most of all, He calms the storm inside us in our deepest inner soul. (Lloyd John Ogilvie)

…Listening In…

So they cried out to the LORD in their distress, and God brought them out safe from their desperate circumstances. God quieted the storm to a whisper; the sea’s waves were hushed. (Psalm 107:28-29; context)

…Filling Up…

As I write this, a hurricane is bearing down on the east coast of the United States. Since I live outside of Boston, there’s a better than good chance that I’ll be seeing quite a bit of rain over the next few days. High winds, too. Maybe some power outages and isolated flooding. Hopefully no fatalities.

The utility companies are scrambling to cut down tree limbs that could potentially fall on power lines. The governor has already declared a state of emergency. My wife and I took our patio furniture off the porch. And when I passed by the grocery store on my way home today, there wasn’t a single empty parking space (and I doubt there was any bottled water or batteries inside either).

All of this preparation for the storm has gotten me thinking about how we as followers of Jesus Christ prepare for the storms that happen in our lives – not necessarily the actual weather events (though sometimes, maybe), but the tragedies and the calamities and the disappointments, which inevitably happen in our lives.

You might be wondering: if God loves us and wants the best for us, how could God let us experience such storms? We’ll look briefly at this question (though it would take a lot longer than a week to examine it). You might be wondering what we can do when we are facing disaster or what God does when we are facing it. We’ll look at these too.

So pile up the sandbags and batten down the hatches. We’ll ride out this storm together.

…Praying For…

Dear God, you never abandon me, even when we are in the eye of the storm. Thank you for sticking with me through thick and thin. In Jesus Christ’s name I pray. Amen.