Caught
in the storm but protected by God’s umbrella
Have you
ever been caught in a storm? Stormy weather can cause some intense feelings and
reactions for some people.
1.
Stormy weather can cause Fear – Matthew
14:22-33 is the story of Peter walking on the water…….22 And
straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go
before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 23 And
when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray:
and when the evening was come, he was there alone. 24 But the
ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was
contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went
unto them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw
him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they
cried out for fear. 27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them,
saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28 And Peter
answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the
ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he
saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried,
saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth
his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore
didst thou doubt? 32 And when they were come into the ship, the
wind ceased. 33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshiped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.-----a storm came up
while the disciples were in a ship and they were afraid when they saw Jesus
waling on the water toward them. Jesus told them Who He was and then Peter, one
of the disciples walked on the water to. When Peter looked around and saw the
storm, he was afraid.
Storms can be scary and it is natural to be afraid here’s Peter, one of
the disciples who learned at Jesus' feet and even he was afraid, but look what
it says in Matthew 14:31 after Peter began to sink and called out to Christ. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him,
and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
I know when we study this verse we usually focus on the "little faith" part but I think that first part of the verse deserves to be focused on as well. Jesus immediately reached out His hand and caught Peter. When we call on Jesus, He's there for us. I also love that next verse in the chapter (vs. 31).
Here's Peter, one of the disciples who learned at Jesus' feet and even he was afraid, but look what it says in Matthew 14:31 after Peter began to sink and called out to Christ.
And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him,
and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
Jesus knew His disciples were
going to be in that boat when the storm came up. He sent them there. We may
question why the Lord tells us to do something or where He has sent us, or even
the things that we have to deal with because it may not be smooth sailing. We may
question why the Lord is causing storms in our lives when all we want to do is
to serve Him and obey Him. This story shows me that sometimes we can be right
where God wants us--right where He told us to go--right in the center of His
will and we can still have some storms come up. What we can take comfort in is
the fact that the Lord knows all about those storms and He's there with us
through them.
2.
Stormy weather
can cause worry in Mark 4:35-41, the disciples were out on the water in a
boat again. This time Jesus was with them. As a matter of fact, in this story,
Jesus was sleeping. A storm comes up on the water, and the disciples began to
worry that they were going to die. The wind was blowing. The ship they were in
was full of water and they were worried about their safety. The disciples went
to Jesus and woke Him up and basically asked Him if He cared if they died or
not.
And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow:
and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that
we perish? 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.
And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have
no faith? Mark 4:38-40
It's so easy to question God's care when we have that water rushing in on us and we feel like we can't keep our head up above it. What's so sweet is that we can give those worries right over to the Lord because we know He's the one that is capable of calming our waters and our storm. We can have that faith in Him because He is always in control whether we can see it from our view or not.
And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow:
and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that
we perish? 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.
And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have
no faith? Mark 4:38-40
It's so easy to question God's care when we have that water rushing in on us and we feel like we can't keep our head up above it. What's so sweet is that we can give those worries right over to the Lord because we know He's the one that is capable of calming our waters and our storm. We can have that faith in Him because He is always in control whether we can see it from our view or not.
3.
Stormy weather can
cause change -
The story of Noah's Ark is found in Genesis 6-9. Noah definitely had some raindrops falling down all around him and God was wonderful in preparing a way for Noah and his family to escape the flood. We always hear about that provision part of the story and it is a wonderful story of God's plan and protection. But can you just imagine what it must have been like after God safely carried them through the flood and for Noah's family to step off of that ark and look around and realize that they were the last ones standing? Talk about change! Everything they had ever known was different. Their lifestyle would be different. The land and earth itself was different. The whole make up of the entire world as they knew it was different. All their friends and all the people they had ever known aside from their family was gone. I know I would have had a hard time adjusting.
Change can be rough. In my personal life there was a time that change was very difficult for me. My Dad was dying of brain cancer and on July 14, 2008 we carried him to see his doctor in Birmingham for the last time that day the doctor told us that three months would be a long life for dad. Mom was already over tired and drained from taking care of Dad day in and day out and the nights as well....Well as we were leaving the Doctor office that day at Kirkland clinic I will never forget as we were walking over the bridge at Kirkland clinic the Lord impressed upon me that I needed to move in with Mom and Dad to help take care of Dad I just ignored this because this is not what flesh wanted to do. Me and Audrey was living in Shadow Lake Apts. and everything in our life seem to be going good at the time and I remember coming home and saying Lord please don't make me do this I struggled with it and decided if it was meant for me to do it that the Lord would just send someone to tell me. On Sunday, July 27, 2008 Bro Jeff Crawley had come to me two different times in church and prayed with me that morning and said different things each time. After church we were all talking and he come up to me and said Amy, sometimes we don't understand the message or the words the Lord is giving us to give someone else but through obedience we just have to know that it is what the Lord wants us to do I have come to you two different times today during service to tell you what the Lord has given me to tell you and it just didn't make sense to me and I can't leave today without sharing this with you and the Lord has told me to just tell you to go home....I begin to just weep because I knew this was exactly my answer to what I really needed to do. You know sometimes we doubt or we don't have enough of confidence to know that the Lord is telling us something and we just want to know for sure that it is him and if it is he will make himself real in the situation and he did in mine.
The story of Noah's Ark is found in Genesis 6-9. Noah definitely had some raindrops falling down all around him and God was wonderful in preparing a way for Noah and his family to escape the flood. We always hear about that provision part of the story and it is a wonderful story of God's plan and protection. But can you just imagine what it must have been like after God safely carried them through the flood and for Noah's family to step off of that ark and look around and realize that they were the last ones standing? Talk about change! Everything they had ever known was different. Their lifestyle would be different. The land and earth itself was different. The whole make up of the entire world as they knew it was different. All their friends and all the people they had ever known aside from their family was gone. I know I would have had a hard time adjusting.
Change can be rough. In my personal life there was a time that change was very difficult for me. My Dad was dying of brain cancer and on July 14, 2008 we carried him to see his doctor in Birmingham for the last time that day the doctor told us that three months would be a long life for dad. Mom was already over tired and drained from taking care of Dad day in and day out and the nights as well....Well as we were leaving the Doctor office that day at Kirkland clinic I will never forget as we were walking over the bridge at Kirkland clinic the Lord impressed upon me that I needed to move in with Mom and Dad to help take care of Dad I just ignored this because this is not what flesh wanted to do. Me and Audrey was living in Shadow Lake Apts. and everything in our life seem to be going good at the time and I remember coming home and saying Lord please don't make me do this I struggled with it and decided if it was meant for me to do it that the Lord would just send someone to tell me. On Sunday, July 27, 2008 Bro Jeff Crawley had come to me two different times in church and prayed with me that morning and said different things each time. After church we were all talking and he come up to me and said Amy, sometimes we don't understand the message or the words the Lord is giving us to give someone else but through obedience we just have to know that it is what the Lord wants us to do I have come to you two different times today during service to tell you what the Lord has given me to tell you and it just didn't make sense to me and I can't leave today without sharing this with you and the Lord has told me to just tell you to go home....I begin to just weep because I knew this was exactly my answer to what I really needed to do. You know sometimes we doubt or we don't have enough of confidence to know that the Lord is telling us something and we just want to know for sure that it is him and if it is he will make himself real in the situation and he did in mine.
Sometimes the rain falls on our lives and the storms come up
and rage for a time and after a while the storm quiets down or comes to a
standstill and we stop and look around and there is all this change. Then that
change sets in. Not to say that change is always bad. Sometimes it strengthens
us and improves our lives, but that isn't to say that it's always easy for us
to go through. This change in my life was hard and it has been over three years
now and it is still hard..... Change brings about a difference in our routines
and even the little things along with the big things are not the same anymore
and it can affect us.
I'm so glad I have the Lord to lean on at times like that. I know when I'm feeling that change that comes with the storms that there's always something that God can show me to remind me that He's still there. For Noah He gave that reminder in the form of a rainbow.
And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it,
that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God
and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
Genesis 9:16
I may not look up and see a big colorful rainbow in the sky. It may be that I have to actively look for that reminder of God's love. I may have to search God's Word, dwell on His promises, and seek Him in prayer, but in the end, He'll give me that rainbow of comfort. The Lord will let me know that He is still in control.
I'm so glad I have the Lord to lean on at times like that. I know when I'm feeling that change that comes with the storms that there's always something that God can show me to remind me that He's still there. For Noah He gave that reminder in the form of a rainbow.
And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it,
that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God
and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
Genesis 9:16
I may not look up and see a big colorful rainbow in the sky. It may be that I have to actively look for that reminder of God's love. I may have to search God's Word, dwell on His promises, and seek Him in prayer, but in the end, He'll give me that rainbow of comfort. The Lord will let me know that He is still in control.
Just as we use an umbrella to protect us from different types of weather God provides us an umbrella to protect us in the storm.
-Discovering God’s Umbrella
Life has many dark times…as well as sunny times. We often seem to be in the valley more than the Mountain tops but no matter where you are at God is still with you.
A few months ago I was going through a trial that was testing my faith very strongly and one night as I went to bed I sit up on the edge of the bed and I remember saying this to God. I feel like I have been going through way to much lately, and God it is not easy how are you showing me you love me through all of this? Well I had little faith not thinking when I ask that question that I would get the immediate response that I did. God said to my heart…”I’m walking through the rain with you and I am giving you my umbrella” I felt like at that moment God was giving me his umbrella like anyone else might share their umbrella on a rainy day. As I look back over my life the last few years I can see exactly where God has done just that for me. There have been many times when I have cried, but there was also moments of joy deeper than I’d ever known. There been many day when I was frustrated. But there was also an immeasurable peace covering my life. But there are still moments that seem like some of life long dreams will never come true. But somehow I still have an enduring hope that makes me certain that God has a plan.
-Lessons from the Storm
You know when we go through a storm in life it is just not for us to have to suffer as we may think at times but there are Lessons to be learned from the storm.
As I thought about all the trials, upsets, frustrations, depressing times I had been going through I begin to understand what God meant when He said He had given me His umbrella, but I also thought it through and realized there were a few things I had learned just walking out in the rain.
1.
I have got
to choose to stay under the umbrella.
There are still times in my life as well as yours I am sure that I walk
right out from underneath the covering that God has provided for me. And it can
be done not even realizing it….We get frustrated at times, scared, and even
angry and we walk right out in the storm without even thinking about God.
Sadness begins to creep in along with some depression and at the time hope has
begun to disappear. I look down to only notice that I am soaking wet from being
out from under the umbrella …..that my friend is when we need to realize we
need to run back to God’s umbrella to dry off again.
2.
God is the
one holding the umbrella – I am just going to have to say this one kind of
slapped me in the face when I started realizing it this week……there are many
times on my journey that I have run to
friends (Heather) thinking they could
stop the storm. I am finally figuring out that they can walk with me through
the storm with me but only God has the umbrella.
3.
The umbrella
doesn’t make the storm go away- God’s umbrella has kept me from getting soaked
from time to time. IT has given me a peace, hope and even joy in the midst of
the hard times I have ever faced but I am still in the storm. When I was
younger I probably shouldn’t say younger it was just a few years ago when this
really became reality to me I thought I
had to have a smile plastered on my face at all times now I have learned that
it is ok to admit Im hurting, it’s ok to say I am struggling, it is actually
seems like God gets more Glory when people know I am in a storm, and the only
way I am making it is with the umbrella made of love. Even in times of
difficulty I’ve been able to see God’s hand.
-Believing the Sun will Shine Again –
Raindrops are still splashing against the window. The storm outside looks like
it will never end. Sometimes the storms in my life still feels that way to, but
I know I will have God’s umbrella until the sun comes out again. 
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