The Thunder Rolls and Lightning Strikes
Last night we had "lots of thunder and lightning" as the morning news is reporting during evening and overnight storms, just in case you were one of the very few that were unaware of the night's events. Before nightfall, the sky turned dark...in spots almost black as I viewed it from the front windows.The wind picked up; I could see the tall pines in the back swaying from side to side. From the big windows, that look over the back yard and pasture, you could see the lightning strikes,at times they seemed like they were going to strike right into the back of the great room. They were lighting up the sky...one right after the other. And then the thunder....it would BOOM! and then the sound would roll...seemingly for minutes! BOOM, CLAP,ROLL...over and over again! And now, as the sun rises, flash flooding, power outages, streets littered with debris...storms in all its glory...part of nature, part of life!
During the storms we had overnight are we are able to turn on the television to get up to date reports and tracking on the intensity and location of them. Nowadays, we also have alerts on weather radios, and of course, even on our smart phones that warn you of all the details...what you can expect. They even tell you what you should do...take cover, go into an inside room or storm shelter! Yet, there are other storms that come with very little, if any notice....no beforehand warnings, not alerts, and no instructions...the storms OF LIFE! Illness, loss of life, relationship difficulties, financial despair, loss of jobs....the hardest parts of life on earth...the storms of life.
When you are living through these storms, you feel like those tall pines in my back yard, just being bent from one side to another. You feel like you are swaying so far over you might just break. The thunder booms, claps, and rolls so loud it seem to drown out all other sounds and it is almost deafening. The lightning just seems to illuminate how many problems you have with no answers, how alone and lonely you are, how deep your sadness and desperation is. And anxiety and fear can sweep over you in an instant like the flash floods after a heavy storm.
Yet, as the sun rises and a new day begins, the sun comes out bright and clear,the rain that flooded the streets dries up, and the boom and clap of thunder is replaced with the chirping of the birds. When we have storms in life we clinging to God, his word, and your family, friends, church. Try not to measure the size of the storm but talk to the One who can calm it. And let the ones you love pray with you, for you, carry you. That is God's design for us as one in Christ. We ALL have stormy times and sometimes the darkness engulfs us and we need others to stand in the gap for us. Does that make us less of a christian? NO,NO, NO...that makes us human. Look at the example Jesus was kind enough to give us in Luke 22...this is the scripture that tells us about Jesus going to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray when he was anguished, cheeks streaked with tears face flooded in sweat and
rivulets of blood dripping from his chin..."...Being full of pain, Jesus prayed even harder. His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground." Luke 22:43-44. Gospel of Mark says "Jesus fell to the ground" (Mark 14:35), Matthew tells us Jesus was "deeply grieved, even to death" (Matthew 26:37-38), and in Luke 22:44 "Jesus was full of pain".
Here is the bottom line to me....when we are experiencing the storms of life we are going to have fear, anxiety, despair...Jesus let us know that, as the Son of God, even he experienced these REAL emotion. We all too often think that being strong means putting on a mask of strength... gloss over our fears and anxiety...cover them up. That is not what Jesus did...there was no mask of strength but there was a request for strength! He looked to his Father with his fear, his anxiety, and his despair. And Jesus was specific...His words to the Father..."Take this cup" he prayed. Give God the details...share with your family and ask them to go to the Father with specifics with you and for you...put your name on the prayer list and let others in to join with you in the name of Jesus! And what should we expect...what do we want? We want God's will to be done and we want peace to accompany the storms we have to ride out! Did God take the cross from Jesus? No, because the cross was the will of God but he did take the fear Jesus was carrying....He calmed Jesus and gave him peace and strength...that is the sun coming out bright and clear!
So, take off the mask of strength, try not to measure the intensity of the storm, and come out of the storm shelter. First, and foremost go straight to the Father and share the specifics of your fears, your anxieties, your despair. Ask for HIS will to be done and the grace and strength to continue to stay under his wings of hope and protection. Then reach out to your spiritual family and ask them to help you...share with them and let them help you focus on the giver of strength, to pray with you and for you...to encourage the calm and hope and strength of our Father until we see the brightness of a new day...the calm after the storm!
https://www.facebook.com/trina.barnes2"Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." Hebrews 12:1-2
During the storms we had overnight are we are able to turn on the television to get up to date reports and tracking on the intensity and location of them. Nowadays, we also have alerts on weather radios, and of course, even on our smart phones that warn you of all the details...what you can expect. They even tell you what you should do...take cover, go into an inside room or storm shelter! Yet, there are other storms that come with very little, if any notice....no beforehand warnings, not alerts, and no instructions...the storms OF LIFE! Illness, loss of life, relationship difficulties, financial despair, loss of jobs....the hardest parts of life on earth...the storms of life.
When you are living through these storms, you feel like those tall pines in my back yard, just being bent from one side to another. You feel like you are swaying so far over you might just break. The thunder booms, claps, and rolls so loud it seem to drown out all other sounds and it is almost deafening. The lightning just seems to illuminate how many problems you have with no answers, how alone and lonely you are, how deep your sadness and desperation is. And anxiety and fear can sweep over you in an instant like the flash floods after a heavy storm.
Yet, as the sun rises and a new day begins, the sun comes out bright and clear,the rain that flooded the streets dries up, and the boom and clap of thunder is replaced with the chirping of the birds. When we have storms in life we clinging to God, his word, and your family, friends, church. Try not to measure the size of the storm but talk to the One who can calm it. And let the ones you love pray with you, for you, carry you. That is God's design for us as one in Christ. We ALL have stormy times and sometimes the darkness engulfs us and we need others to stand in the gap for us. Does that make us less of a christian? NO,NO, NO...that makes us human. Look at the example Jesus was kind enough to give us in Luke 22...this is the scripture that tells us about Jesus going to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray when he was anguished, cheeks streaked with tears face flooded in sweat and
rivulets of blood dripping from his chin..."...Being full of pain, Jesus prayed even harder. His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground." Luke 22:43-44. Gospel of Mark says "Jesus fell to the ground" (Mark 14:35), Matthew tells us Jesus was "deeply grieved, even to death" (Matthew 26:37-38), and in Luke 22:44 "Jesus was full of pain".
Here is the bottom line to me....when we are experiencing the storms of life we are going to have fear, anxiety, despair...Jesus let us know that, as the Son of God, even he experienced these REAL emotion. We all too often think that being strong means putting on a mask of strength... gloss over our fears and anxiety...cover them up. That is not what Jesus did...there was no mask of strength but there was a request for strength! He looked to his Father with his fear, his anxiety, and his despair. And Jesus was specific...His words to the Father..."Take this cup" he prayed. Give God the details...share with your family and ask them to go to the Father with specifics with you and for you...put your name on the prayer list and let others in to join with you in the name of Jesus! And what should we expect...what do we want? We want God's will to be done and we want peace to accompany the storms we have to ride out! Did God take the cross from Jesus? No, because the cross was the will of God but he did take the fear Jesus was carrying....He calmed Jesus and gave him peace and strength...that is the sun coming out bright and clear!
So, take off the mask of strength, try not to measure the intensity of the storm, and come out of the storm shelter. First, and foremost go straight to the Father and share the specifics of your fears, your anxieties, your despair. Ask for HIS will to be done and the grace and strength to continue to stay under his wings of hope and protection. Then reach out to your spiritual family and ask them to help you...share with them and let them help you focus on the giver of strength, to pray with you and for you...to encourage the calm and hope and strength of our Father until we see the brightness of a new day...the calm after the storm!
https://www.facebook.com/trina.barnes2"Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." Hebrews 12:1-2
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