Between three and four AM seems to be the preferred time for my spirit to wrestle with the things of God. I woke up thinking about the weather and how we are caught in the natural processes of the world. Warm air collides with cool air and creates what we know as storms. It’s not a phenomenon that typically happens to us as individuals, as if it is a personal experience, but something we are caught in because we live in the natural world.
Then, I thought about the storms that appear on the Sea of Galilee. They are common and can appear unexpectantly. During one such storm, as Mark 4 tells the story, the storm was so fierce that the boats the disciples were in were taking on water. Jesus stood up, speaking to the wind and the waves, and the sea became calm. In this world, Jesus is Lord of the weather.
God’s Kingdom is Different from this World
Human existence is confusing in many ways. For the believer and follower of Jesus, life can be confusing because we are caught between two realities: the physical and the eternal. We live in the space where these two realities collide, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world, creating spiritual storms of confusion and doubt and fear.
The world would have us believe that everything around us is a cut-and-dry, two-sided coin. You’re either right or wrong, left or right, good or bad. But in God’s economy, life isn’t so simple. The world’s conjunctions are “either-or”. God’s conjunctions are “both-and”. At the same moment that God demands justice for the abused, He extends mercy to the abuser. At the same moment that God’s Spirit convicts a soul of sin, the blood of Jesus offers forgiveness. The person living in Christ is simultaneously a sinner and a saint, full of fear and faith, trust and doubt. We are at the same time earthly, mortal beings and eternal beings awaiting the kingdom of Christ to come.
Five Things to Remember
While we live in this world in the space between the physical and the eternal, there will be storms. We will be confused, scared, and lost. Here are five things to remember when the storms come.
1. Storms are a natural result of living between two realities.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
2. Storms come and go. Don’t quit. Keep going.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal 2 Cor 4:18
3. God is with us and for us in the storm.
And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matt 28:20
4. Jesus is the Lord of the weather in your life.
They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4:41
5. For the believer, a day is coming when there will be no more storms. Live eternally now.
There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. Rev 22:5 NIV
Image: Unsplash
Copyright@ TA Boland 2023
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