Ever had a storm come
up very suddenly and you find yourself unprepared for the storm? Yes, me
too!! You know those times when it is pouring down rain and you just
remembered you left your umbrella in the car! There are storms that
arise because of our own misguided actions, then there are the storms
that the enemy will bring into our lives; when we did not expect it.
Yet, through all of these storms a testing of our faith will occur.
Battling
storms will require us to remain steadfast, planted on a firm
foundation, or as an old fisherman's quote "Better make sure you batten
down the hatches." Storms are never pleasant, and often bring us
feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and despair. There have been
times when I really felt like I would drown if Jesus did not reach down
and pull me to safety. At times when I felt this way the enemy would be
shouting into my ear "Give up, Nothing will change, You don't matter to
anyone, Lay down and die!" Even typing these words fills me with pain,
remembering the times when Satan spoke these words into my mind, then I
for a brief moment believed his lies and wept desiring death rather than
the storm.
Looking at the word: Matthew 14:22-33 Jesus had
just finished feeding 5,000 and as He sent the people away He told His
disciples to get in the boat and go to the other side. Then He went up
on the mountain to be by Himself and pray, here He looks out and sees
the boat in the middle of the sea.
Matthew 14:24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.
Matthew
14:31-33 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him
(Peter), and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in
the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly, You are the Son of
God."
Our Christian life is a walk of faith, yet, when we
find ourselves in the storms of life, we often find ourselves doubting
where God is. Faith will grow, as we are stretched beyond where we were
to the next level, and in that stretch will come a test that will at
times appear like storms.
Remember Abraham, God had
promised him a son, a son that would be born in his old age to him and
his wife Sarah. We know that after Issac was born time past and God
instructed Abraham to take his son, his promised son and offer him as a
sacrifice. We can read that Genesis 22:1-18, we know that this is a
picture of the time when God, Himself, will give His Son Jesus Christ as
our sacrifice, in fact the ram caught in the bush is a picture of Jesus
as our sacrifice, our substitute. But lets look at the following
scriptures:
Hebrews 11:17-19 By faith Abraham, when he was
tested, offered up Issac, and he who had received the promises offered
up his only begotten son, of who it was said; "In Issac your seed shall
be called." concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the
dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
You
see from the time Abraham was 75 years of age until his extremely old
age, God was preparing him for this test. Our walk with Jesus through
each valley, to the top of the mountain has been to prepare us for the
testing of our faith, no matter how it may come. Each time God reveals a
deeper revelation to us and we begin to walk in that deeper revelation a
test will come. Yet God never wants us to fail, He always prepares us
for what is coming, and He sustains us in the middle of it. The
incarnation of Jesus Christ was the fourth man in the furnace with the
three Hebrew men in Daniel chapter 3. When they came out they did not
even have the stench of smoke on their clothing.
I am
writing this because too often I have felt like a failure, even when I
saw the test coming I viewed it as a storm and reacted to the drama
verses responding in peace and faith. I am sure we can all agree we have
been there more times than we would like to remember. But God will not
allow us to be failures, we have been built to outlast the storm, and to
pass the test. And as I have learned, we get the privilege of taking
the test over and over until we pass it.
Just a reminder
seeking an on-line bible study that you can work on from home? Check out
www.lindgroberts.com. This takes you to the front page and on the left
are different studies, the one we are working on now is "Are You
Willing?" and we are looking at Abraham.
