RESTING THROUGH THE STORM

     Storms don't always come with a warning; many times they come unannounced.  One morning when I awoke I was told that it had stormed in my area around 2:00 a.m. that morning.  When I walked out of my house I saw the evidence of the storm in the plethora of debris all over the ground and the wet pavement and asphalt.  This was before I had the conversation where I was informed that it had indeed stormed. While it had stormed greatly on the outside, on the inside all was peaceful rest.  I slept through the whole thing.  I was told that there was thunder and lightning that caused some to awake, but I heard nothing. My slumber, my rest was unbroken.

           There are times when we experience individual storms in our lives whether in our health, finances, family or even socially.  The storm can be an emotional one, a spiritual one, a mental one, or a physical one.  Storms will come and they will go, but what really matters is how we manage the storm.  What really matters is how we navigate the storm.  This reminds me of the time when Jesus and his disciples entered into a boat to cross to the other side of a lake in Luke 8:22-25. Once they were in the boat Jesus fell asleep, no doubt tired from ministering throughout various cities that day as mentioned in the beginning of this eighth chapter of Luke.  After Jesus was asleep a storm arose on the lake, which placed them in danger (jeopardy as mentioned in verse 23).  The storms that would arise on this lake where Jesus and the disciples were geographically located would be violent storms that would arise suddenly seemingly out of nowhere.  So, this storm was a violent storm that caused their boat to be filled with water making the disciples fearful yet Jesus was asleep. Jesus was at perfect rest in the midst of the storm. Why is it that Jesus could be at rest in the storm when the disciples could not be?

1.  Jesus understood dominion, the disciples did not.  We first see this word,           "dominion" in Genesis 1:26 where God said that we should have dominion over all the earth and everything on it.  To have dominion means to rule or reign over, to subjugate (to bring under control and governance), and to prevail over.  While Jesus understood that he had this dominion, the disciples did not so they asked in verse 25, who is this man that he prevails over nature; that nature even does what he says?  Understand that we were designed from the very beginning to have dominion as revealed in Gen. 1:26.

2.  Jesus understood purpose, the disciples did not.  When you understand your God given purpose you know what is meant to threaten you as opposed to what is meant to take you out.  Jesus understood the purpose for which he was placed on this earth.  There was much work for him to do for the sake of the kingdom and so, his time was not yet to leave this earth nor was this the means by which it would happen.  Jesus called these disciples for the purpose of planting the principles of his kingdom into their hearts so that he could release them into the world to perpetuate this kingdom principle planting process throughout the world.  If they understood this, they would have known that the storm did not have the power to destroy them.  They had God given purpose, but lacked understanding.

          Sometimes we are like the disciples in that we grow fearful when the storms of life blow our way.  What we must realize is that the storms do not come to terminate us, but to test and try us.  The storms of life will come to try our faith and test our stamina and spiritual fortitude.  We have no control over the storms arising in our lives, but we do have control over how we respond in the midst of the storm. The next time a storm arises in your life, how will you respond? Will you walk in your God given dominion knowing that it is you that has the power to prevail over the storm rather than the storm having the power to prevail over you? Will you rest through the storm assured of your God given purpose knowing that the storm does not have the power to and is not assigned to take you out?  Build up spiritual stamina that you might endure the storms of this life by walking by faith and not by sight trusting that God did not allow the storm to come to break or destroy you, but to try you, reveal the posture of your faith, and to strengthen you.  It is my prayer that though the storms of life may blow and even threatens you jeopardizing your comfort zone that you will be able to rest through the storm knowing that God abides with you in it and will bring you through it.

                - Dr. DeShonda Bailey

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Posterous theme by Cory Watilo