Seek
Him, Find Peace, in the storm… In His Word 1-18-2021
You
are traveling on a mountain road and suddenly wind and clouds billow around
you, the ground gets slippery with sleet and snow and you don’t know what to
do. Or maybe you are at work and the boss or your co-workers are suddenly angry
with you for something you did not even know you did… where do you go to find
peace? Where can we look to find out how to get it?
In His
Word~
But he
said, "Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Genesis 43:23
The
brothers had just been to see Joseph to get grain for sustenance during the
famine in Egypt. They had been back a second time but had brought Benjamin with
them and on returning from there. They
were set up so that they would have to bring Jacob to see him too. There was
momentary fear that resulted in a good thing!
While
he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a
voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased. Hear Him!" And when the disciples heard it, they fell on
their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said,
"Arise, and do not be afraid." When they had lifted their eyes, they
saw no one but Jesus only.
Matthew
17:5-8
For
all my ways are before You. Ps 119:165-168
But immediately
Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be
afraid."
And
Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to
You on the water."
So, He
said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked
on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he
was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save
me!"
And immediately
Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, 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." Matthew 14:27-33
So
often we find ourselves in a storm of life. The troubles can seem over-whelming
just like waves. The men in the boat had good reason to fear! They could justify
their fear; they could even feed their fears.
The
‘what ifs’ could have drowned them alone! Yet, Jesus came to help them.
I
want to think on this for a moment, Jesus came and did not right away stop the
storm. In fact, if we read it over again, he came toward them walking on water.
Not running to save them but approaching them in a rather calm fashion waiting
for them to look up from their struggles and see Him.
Then
as they did, at first, they became even more fearful! They thought he was a
ghost or some other imagination of the sea! But immediately Jesus spoke to them
and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”
Let’s
look at the first thing he said first.
Be of good cheer; when we are in storms of life
and wind and waves are plummeting at us, we too can be of good cheer! He is
with us in the storm, waiting for us to come to Him just as Peter did!
We
know this because His next words were to be so.
‘It is
I’; He revealed to them whom it was coming towards them, to help them. To help
us to know His peace Jesus reveals Himself to our hearts through the Holy
Spirit. Even during the storm!
Notice,
He did not stop the storm right away, though we can tell through reading our
way through He surely could have! But if He had, would we have found this
nugget of strength just when we needed it?
Ah,
you see God had a plan in it. He knew they would be in the storm; He knew they
would ‘stress out’, fret and moan, worry and wonder, and be fearful of this
storm!
Okay,
now here is the clincher! He knew you would be in the storm you are in right
now too!
Wow,
that is amazing isn’t it? He knew that this week you needed to read this
scripture selection and apply it to your life.
He knew I would need it too!
This
week, I said “See you Later” to my earthly father. He is now, as scripture
tells me, (2 Cor 5:8) He is with the Lord as I write this. So, I know I will
see him ‘later’, someday, when I too am present with the Lord. I may have to weather a few storms before
that day, so I need to be sure I am prayed up and read up and ready for battle
in this world!
But
that is another thought to think on.
Today
I want to focus on getting through the storm to the Peace.
For as
the story reads in Matthew, Jesus was with them in the storm, He walked towards
them, not away from them. They did not have to pursue Him to find their help,
He was there approaching them in their time of need.
Some
of us think we must search forever to find God. Well, it seems some people
search their lifetime and then realize He was right beside them from the
beginning! He is not hard to find you just have to use your heart to find Him.
The
storm I was in is one of emotional distress, of my family, and love for a dad
who was so much to me. But I learned to have peace in the storm, because the
Lord showed me how much my dad was used to point me to my Father God!
I learned that
the Lord was there
when I followed his instruction; I
learned to follow His instructions.
When I
sought to please him; I learned to
please Him.
When I
sought to show him just how much I
love him; I learned to tell my Father God of my love for Him freely!
When I
found I could depend on him; I
learned I could depend on Him.
When I
saw he was strong in the storms of
life; I knew He would be strong in the storms of my life.
When I
knew that I could lean on his open
arms and cry; I found I could lean on His everlasting arms and weep.
I will
miss my father; ‘a lot’ does not even
begin to say how much. I must remember though, that my heavenly Father had lent
him to me for 43 years, and now it is His turn to have a Dad hug.
I know
that Jesus is with me in this storm. I know He will say do not be afraid, for I
am with you wherever you go. Through all this I know I can attend to the needs
at hand and row back to shore in calm safety, because my Lord is with me.
Though
my heart aches with the loss of my father, I know I will always have my
Heavenly Father nearby.
He will be the one I go to for comfort, for
encouragement, for delight at what I have accomplished, for assurance when I am
afraid. Though I had to let my daddy go, my heavenly Father will never leave
me, nor forsake me. It is time for me to rely on Him, just as and even more so
than I relied on my dad.
We are
confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be
present with the Lord.
Heavenly
Father, help me to know your peace in the storm I am in today. Help me to
seek
You, to invite you into my boat that I would be safe from the storms that rage.
Most of all grant me your peace, the peace that comes with trusting You. In
Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Suggested
Readings;
Monday:
Ps 119:165-168
Tuesday:
Matthew 14:1-33
Wednesday:
Mark 6: all
Thursday
: Psalm 37-all
Friday:
Psalm 22-all
Weekend
readings: 2 Corinthians 13-all
Copyright © 2006
by Teresa M. Wilson.
All rights reserved.