Hurricane Irene rolled through our area last week-end! Though it was bad, the devastation could have been a LOT worse. My hat’s off to Virginia Power for getting crews out and getting our electricity back on after 36 hours of darkness.
We went to church Sunday morning only to find the lights out there too. But it was good to gather and celebrate God’s grace and mercy. My wife and I have just joined a new church and the pastor spoke briefly on “After the storm.” He reminded us that the Lord has everything under control.
In the midst of the storm, the birds just hunker down in their nests and wait for it to pass. We face those storms (both physical, like Irene, emotional and spiritual) in our lives, too. How do we respond? Where is our faith? It’s easy to trust in God when things are going right! But what about times like last week-end?
The Bible says that, “those who WAIT upon the Lord shall renew their strength…. they will mount up on wings like eagle’s.” Eagles soar above the storm. We need to do the same thing when storms roll into our lives.
I talked with our team last week about persistence. With persistence comes patience. Sometimes we must plow ahead while at other times, like that bird in the nest, we have to hunker down and… wait!
If you are battling one of life’s storms right now, realize that 1- God is in control (if you’ve put your trust in His Son). He will not leave you floating around in a leaky boat out on the lake in a raging storm. I love the story where Jesus told His disciples to “go across the lake and I will meet you on the other side.” Jesus went off to pray and the disciples set out in their boat. Halfway across they ran into a violent storm. They thought they were going to drown! In the midst of the storm, here come Jesus walking on the water… commanding the storm to calm and, in turn, calming the nerves of the disciples. I found it interesting that He told them that He would meet them on “the other side.” That He would get them through the storm. God’s promises are sure!
2- While we are in the storm, we have to exhibit patience and persistence. As Winston Churchill said in a famous WW II speech: “Never give up and… never give in!” As the Bible says, we must “press on toward the goal.”
Coach,
So glad to hear that things are good after the strom. I love your encouraging words… especially as I am a first time head coach. We lost our first game in the schools history by a score of 36-7. However, we took the opening kickoff and drove 65 yards in 7 plays to score our first ever touchdown! I was so proud of how our kids played!
Persistance and Perseverance!
Ray