He Stilled the Storm

Psalms 107:24 

They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep. For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; 

in their peril their courage melted away… 

they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. 

He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.

 They were glad when it grew calm, 

and he guided them to their desired haven. 

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind.

James 1:1 says to count it pure joy when we go through a trial.Then in James1:2-8 he uses the metaphor of a stormy sea and says we will encounter storms in this life, and without faith we will be "like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind."

Storms are a part of Christian life. I can pray for Him to calm the waves but also must be  faithful in the storm. Remember Jesus' words in Mark 4 in the midst of a storm

Peace, Be Still. 

God is in the Wilderness

In the book, "Wounded by God’s people by Ann Graham Lotz," Ann writes

“A wilderness is defined as an uncultivated, uninhabited, inhospitable region. I would also describe a wilderness as dry, barren, lonely, and rocky. And it was in a spiritual wilderness that I found myself several years ago. Because it was a time in my life that was dry… seemingly devoid of the rain of God’s blessing; barren… seemingly devoid of evidence of real fruit in my life; lonely… devoid of any conscious awareness of God’s presence; and it was rocky… littered with problems and obstacles and hard things.

One morning, I (Anne) intended to open my Bible to the verses on which I had been meditating the day before. But as divine providence would have it, I made a “mistake.” Instead I opened to a chapter that was several pages past where I had been. 

The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. Exodus 20:21

The verse seemed to be illuminated. It leaped up off the page as I heard God whispering to me through the words, Anne, most people shy away from the wilderness. They don’t like the darkness of oppression, loneliness, dryness, barrenness. They don’t like to be in a hard place. If they think I’m going to lead them there, they resist, back off, and want no part of following Me. But, Anne, Moses approached the thick darkness. Because that’s where I was. And that’s where I still am, Anne. 

Embrace the darkness.

Before I could answer Him, before I could even pray, almost before I could even think, I found myself turning several pages back to where I was “supposed” to have been reading. The first verse of that reading was,

While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud. Exodus 16:10

The desert is another name for the wilderness! That dry, barren, rocky, lonely place where I seemed to be. And I knew God was telling me, Anne, I am here. Look closely. You will see My glory in the dark cloud. 

God is in the darkness and God is in the wilderness.

In Matthew 11:7 Jesus ask “…What did you go out into the wilderness to see?”

Who am I going into the wilderness to see? Am I willing to meet Jesus there?

If I want to walk down the wrong road, I must begin by silencing 

God’s Divine Voice 

within me.

Psalm 119:133

Direct my footsteps according to your word. 

Let no sin rule over me.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made From Max Lucado, 

Every year tens of thousands of women attend the Women of Faith conferences. One reason they do is to hear words of comfort. After hearing one speaker after another describe God’s compassion for each of his children, an attendee sent this e-mail.

In the movie Hook, Peter Pan had grown up, become old and overweight, and looked nothing like the Peter the lost boys knew. In the midst of the boys shouting that this was NOT Peter, one of the smallest boys took him by the hand and pulled him down to his level. He then placed his hands on Peter’s face and proceeded to move the skin around, reshaping his face. The boy looked into Peter’s eyes and said, “There you are, Peter!” 

I brought a lot with me to Women of Faith, things that only God could see. But throughout the weekend I could feel God’s hands on my face, pushing away all of the “stuff ” I had brought. And then I could hear Him say, “There you are. There you are!” 

Shhh. Listen. Do you hear? God is saying the same words to you. Finding the beauty the years bury, the sparkle that time tries to take. Seeing you and loving the you he sees. “There you are. There you are.”

According to him you were “skillfully wrought” (Ps. 139: 15). You were “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139: 14). He can’t stop thinking about you! If you could count his thoughts of you, “they would be more in number than the sand” (Ps. 139: 18). Why does he love you so much? The same reason the artist loves his paintings or the boat builder loves his vessels. You are his idea. And God has only good ideas. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Eph. 2: 10 NLT).

Sometimes you receive a gift that you know it will be one of your treasured possessions. I was given one at Christmas from my daughter. 

She has my Mom's bible and was able to take a copy of a verse that Mom had wrote in her own handwriting and had it engraved on a bracelet. 

Now I can look down at my arm and be reminded of three things 

(four if you want to count how wrinkled my hand is!) 

 I am reminded of my Mom's love for the Lord and her advice to me, 

my daughter's thoughtful and loving ways, 

and a continual reminder to 

"Trust in the Lord."