Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.
(Acts 27:25 NKJV)
Horizontal rain pelted our faces with grains of sand. Opening the door, the calm of our hotel room felt safe. The building moaned and the ocean outside sounded like a freight train about to hit the hotel. This was not the beach vacation I had envisioned.
We survive many storms during our lifetimes. Not just the ones accompanied by thunder and lightning but the storms that break hearts. Sometimes storms blow our finances apart. An illness or accident can pop up suddenly. One crisis after another bombards our nation. Will COVID ever go away? Will things ever get back to normal, and what does normal look like?
Are you navigating a storm right now? If not, you might have just weathered one.
The Apostle Paul traveled as a prisoner, on a ship that met a storm. When seasoned sailors tremble, all hope fades away. Blackness engulfed them. Unable to see the sun or stars for days, they lost all sense of direction and time.
The crew might have felt abandoned, but God hadn’t abandoned Paul. God sent an angel with a message to encourage Paul. all the men on board would survive this nightmare, but they would encounter more rough seas and eventual shipwreck.
“Don’t be afraid,” the angel reassured Paul. Fear often accompanies storms, but we can’t react in fear like the sailors who tossed the cargo overboard. We must say with Paul, “I believe God.”
Our hearts fall prey to unbelief, but God is faithful to keep His promises. He delivered Paul and all two-hundred seventy-six men safely.
Our peace comes from the Lord, not our faith. That’s why we only need faith the size of a mustard seed to trust God. Enough faith to pray and implore God to help our hearts stop thumping so loudly. Faith that realizes we can’t avoid storms, and faith that recognizes God is in control. He is the master of the storm.
In spite of our fears and our tears, we trust God. We are precious in His sight. He has sacrificed His own Son because He loves us more than we can fathom.
When faith moves in, fear moves over. Maybe not all the way out, but it has to make room. Faith and fear don’t make for good company, so one tends to dominate the other. Which is the dominant factor in your storm, faith or fear?
Today, I encourage you to choose faith. When we seek God and trust Him, God strengthens our faith. This storm didn’t come to beat you down, but to build you up.
Heavenly Father, You tell me I only need faith the size of a mustard seed. That’s all I have, but I am committed to walk by faith. I’m ready to walk through this storm by faith, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
DIG DEEPER
HIKING THE TRAIL
What is one change you can make today to show God you are serious about walking by faith?
RELATED RESOURCE
Losing almost all my vision meant I could no longer walk by sight physically. Blindness gave me spiritual eyes, but you don’t have to go blind to walk by faith. Walking by Faith, Not Sight is a 30-day devotional that helps your faith grow a little stronger each day. Learn more here.
Originally posted on July 9, 2021 @ 3:00 am
I have learned one of two things. Either I created the storm or God did. In both cases Gods plan for the way out of the storm will always be better than my plan.
Amen! The world is going to be blessed with your discernment through your book.