Monday, August 24, 2009

Dark Clouds on the Horizon


Mark 4:39
And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

As a child living in the North Central part of Texas, in an area known a Tornado Alley; I’ll never forget the first severe thunderstorm of my life. My brother and I were playing outside; it was typical hot 107 degree day. The noon sky was beautiful and blue, and not a cloud as far as you could see.

As the day lingered on and unknown to us; off in the distance on the horizon a monstrous storm was forming. We continued to play, fight, and argue like most siblings do over nothing. Suddenly without warning I noticed the wind began to pick up, the sky turned dark and began rolling like a bubbling caldron. The rain started falling in large drops with such ferocity, that when it hit your bare skin it stung like little needles. That was one time Mom didn’t have to tell us to get out of the rain.

While my brother and I stood on the porch watching the rain; I noticed these round white objects falling out of the sky the size of a quarter. I later found out that it was hail. Off in the distance we could hear the sound of the siren from the fire house. I had no idea at the time it meant a tornado was in the area. Mom came to the door and told both of us to get into the house and go down the hall. I knew something was wrong by the urgency in her voice.

Later that evening after watching the news with my parents, I realized what had happened. Not far from where we lived, a tornado had touched down and destroyed several homes in the area. Fortunately no one was killed or injured.

Jesus instructed His disciples to get into the boat so they could go to the other side. As they started across the Sea of Galilee, all was well, no one even thought of any impending danger, especially with Jesus on board.

Suddenly out of no where a storm began to threaten their lives. The winds began blowing violently, causing the sea to churn sending waves across the bow of the boat threatening to send them to the bottom. Seeing their lives in danger they cried out, “Master carest thou not that we parish?” (Mark 4:38) Jesus stood and said, “Peace be still…” and suddenly there was a calm came over the sea, and in the lives of His disciples.

Many times we face natural storms like hurricanes or tornados. Some we can prepare for in advance with plenty of warning; others happen suddenly without warning. As a child of God we also face spiritual storms. Some we see on the horizon, others form suddenly. When these spiritual storms come our way, and it seems that all may be lost just remember; Jesus is with us in the storm, and he is the peace speaker.


By Louis Edwards

1 comments:

Lee Ann said...

I remember those storms well! You make such a wonderful point. We serve an awesome God - who can simply speak the storms away.

May the Lord bless you as you seek to serve Him.