I started this week with a totally different message and on Thursday, God gave me the thought of letting people know that in this tough, fearful time, God is still the same. Jesus came to this earth to teach us to trust Him, to have faith in Him. Jesus showed us that He is the one to run to in times of fear and panic. He calms the storms!
Today, we face corvid 19 virus, oil and gas destabilization and a roller coaster stock market. All these add up to an unknown future. How long will it last? How will we ever get back to “normal?”
All places where people meet together are at risk, businesses are losing monetary value daily, and people are going into isolation in an attempt to stop the disease.
Our Bible has many examples of this same chaos in the generations before us. Even with so many crisis in this book of history, still here we stand, proof that mankind will persevere and God will intervene. God tells us that He will never leave us or forsake us. God promised to lead us out of our distress and to calm the storms.
Psalm 107: 28-30 NIV
28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 They were glad when it grew calm,
and he guided them to their desired haven.
When we allow God to work in our storms, He will calm them!
Psalm 118: 13-14
13 I was pushed back and about to fall,
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
Jesus even did this while He was with us physically. One of those times you can find in Matthew 8: 23-27, Mark 4: 35-41 and Luke 8: 22-25. Let’s look at the passage in Luke to see what Jesus did to show He is the one who calms the storms and brings peace instead of chaos.
Luke 8: 22-25 NIV Jesus Calms the Storm
22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out.
23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.
25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.
In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”
Rick Warren, in his study “Daring Faith”, states this about Faith.
“Faith is not ignoring reality or pretending a problem does not exist.
Faith is facing a hopeless situation without being discouraged by it.”
Today we face a scary reality, a problem that exists for real. We can trust God to give us the strength to face this hopeless situation and not get discouraged. We know God loves us! We know the risen Savior who died and rose up to show us that even death cannot defeat us.
Rick Warren’s “Daring Faith” also gives us an answer to our doubts and fears.
“Jesus can take a hopeless end and turn it into an endless hope. He may not deliver you in the way you think He should, but He will deliver you in the way He knows best.”
I became a believer in our Lord Jesus Christ when I found myself mired in uncertainty and loss of direction in my life. A friend introduced me to Jesus and as soon as I realized that all Jesus wanted was for me to trust Him, I became a new person, a trusting God kind of person.
Has my life been perfect and without problems – absolutely not. I still mess up and still run into problems. The difference is that I am not facing them alone now. I have a friend who never gives up on me. Jesus is always right beside me in the tough times and by hanging onto Him, I get through that crisis.
Today, the entire world has a serious problem! We can face the problem hoping to survive or we can face it in God’s power and love and help others to survive. God gave us the assurance that He would not abandon us in our hour of need and he tells us how to handle these times of chaos.
Here is a story about the prophet Isaiah and the message he was told to give to a fearful nation.
Isaiah 7: 1-7
1When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.
2 Now the house of David was told, “Aram has allied itself with Ephraim”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.
3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, [means a remnant will return] to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman’s Field.
4 Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood—because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.
5 Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted your ruin, saying,
6 “Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.”
7 Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“It will not take place, it will not happen,”
I believe that God is not finished with us yet. We still have work to do in this world. God wants us to show the world His love and power. Times like this are when the strong rise and step into the battle to save others, both physically and spiritually. As Isaiah told Ahaz, “Be careful, keep calm, don’t be afraid and do not lose heart.”
That is what our leaders are telling us right now – maybe they have read the Bible too!
In a New Testament Bible called “Everyone Can Receive the Gift,” there is a quote: “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” Abraham Lincoln.
Like President Lincoln, we need to go to our knees in prayer. God wants us to have the faith to trust Him and we show it by going to Him in prayer. He will lead us through this and we can show the world how we trust by not giving into the fear.
When life gets crazy and fearful, I go back to the first Scripture that God gave me as a young believer.
Psalm 23 KJV
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
What a passage! What a prayer! God has promised to be with us through all this reality we are facing today.
Have faith in Jesus – He does calm the storms!
Let’s pray!
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