As we were driving, we left the comforts of the 70 degree weather, with blue skies and puffy white clouds and went into the mountains to be greeted by snow, still with blue skies and puffy white clouds. As we continued, we could see ahead the clouds where clearly a storm was ahead, where the darkness of the sky met the earth and you couldn't distinguish the separation of the two. As we continued the storm became darker and scarier. The road continued right into the storm.
There was no getting around it. Anyone who knows Wyoming, knows there is a lot of nothing,including choices of roads and even shelter. We had to continue. I gripped the steering wheel and continued on, and feared what I was in for.
As I gripped on to the steering wheel, I gripped on to Jesus as I muttered prayers under my breath.
When we entered the storm, we entered hard rain … the kind of rain that the window wipers couldn't move fast enough, we entered 32 degree weather which brought some snow mixed into the rain. We journeyed on and got through to the other side …. then I could only see the storm in my rear view mirror.
I remembered a childhood book the girls used to love: Going on a Bear Hunt. It talks about going on a bear hunt and having to go through long wavy grass, a river, mud and a cave. They can't go around these obstacles, or over or under it … the only way to go is through it. Sometimes God brings us storms in life. Sometimes storms just come whether God brings them or not. We can't go around them, over them or under them, as much as we want or even try … we have to go through them.
As I looked in the rear view mirror I saw what I went through. And I felt God prompt me as to why I was so scared, after all it wasn't all that I had feared. And as I looked in the mirror again it was because of the storms I have endured in the past. I knew how bad the storm could be … I was fearful of the baseball hail that I could have endured and this time without any coverage. I was fearful of a tornado forming. I was fearful of the lightening that could fall from the sky with such power and put it's mark on the land right next to me. I was fearful of a blizzard coming out of no where … all these things I have endured in the past, and I knew what was possible when the storm was before me.
I remembered Luke 8:22-25. Jesus and his disciples were in the boat, and Jesus was sleeping while the disciples were battling a storm…fearful as they endured it. They feared for their lives. Jesus is all his sleepiness and calmness calmed the storm and asked: "Where is your faith?".
God reminded me that storms are going to come and go. Some are greater than others, as they are all not the same. Fear shouldn't ever stop me with any of them. Where is my faith? Faith is gripping on to Jesus during these storms, but faith is also knowing who is with me and who I am in Him. The storms of life don't have a hold of me, as He is greater, and He has given me authority to be greater than them too.
And just as He has given me the authority over these storms … He has given the authority to you. Conquer your storms. Grip on to Jesus. And take authority. It is yours.
1 comment:
Have you heard about the difference between cows and buffalo? Someone in CO did this study on their behavioral patterns. Cows see a storm and naturally run away from it, effectively extending their time in the storm as they run with it. Buffalo counter-intuitively run straight into the storm which shortens their time in it. Your post reminded me of that lesson I learned a while back.
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