So we have a sewer block in our house. Our house looks a bit like an avalanche. Everywhere I look is a bit of chaos. We have come up with methods to clean and tidy, but as we wait for insurance to decide and inspect and such, I just see chaos. It’s hard to find peace when I am looking all around me. I forget that with a little help and effort, things can get tidied and cleaned. That is in my control. What is out of my control is the financial, the decision of insurance, how long this will take, etc? The storm.
I immediately begin to think about the time with Jesus on the boat. Do you remember this one?
35 On that day, when evening had come, He told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” 36 So they left the crowd and took Him along since He was already in the boat. And other boats were with Him. 37 A fierce windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 But He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke Him up and said to Him, “Teacher! Don’t You care that we’re going to die?” 39 He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 Then He said to them, “Why are you fearful? Do you still have no faith?” 41 And they were terrified and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey Him!”The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009), Mk 4:35–41.
Jesus fell asleep, friend. In the midst of the storm, Jesus knew the author and creator and knew he could rest. Even more appropriate for me, there was water coming in, still he slept on.
I’ve been going back looking over posts I’ve written in the past and this theme, right here, I keep returning. Do I need to keep learning this over and over? Each situation, each time there have been trials and tribulations, yet I can see the Lord’s hand in each circumstance. So, why does the fear start up again? Maybe because in the middle of one trial, there are just more. Or in physical pain, the other trials seem to feel like a pile up. My emotions can get the better of me. With chaos, either water in the boat or water in the house, it’s easy to fix my gaze on that. Or feel the pain in my body and head.
I hear myself saying to Jesus, don’t you see my chaos? I can’t ask him if he cares, he has proved over and over his love and care for me and my family. The wind hasn’t died down yet. What do we know to be true? Based on Psalm 91.
- We live under the protection of the Most High so we dwell in the shadow of the Almighty.
- Declaring who is my God is powerful.
- My refuge
- My fortress
- my God, whom I trust
- He HIMSELF will deliver us
- He HIMSELF will cover us with his feathers, refuge is found under his wings
- His faithfulness will be/is/has been our protective shield
- SO…we will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence. Nothing
- SO…because we have made the LORD, the Psalmist’s refuge, the Most High, your dwelling place no harm will come near us, no plague by our dwelling.
- the LORD will give his angels order concerning us, to protect, to support, not strike foot against stone.
Cara, love him with all your heart. He will deliver. He will protect us because we know his name. When we call out to the LORD, he will answer. He will be with us in trouble. He will rescue us and give us honor. He will satisfy our lives and show us his deliverance.
Believe in the LORD and trust him. No matter what the water says. Rest in the LORD.
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