Storm-Tossed Family part 2

This morning in church we sang 'Raise a Hallelujah' and it talks about singing in the middle of the storm!

We are storm-tossed and singing louder and louder!

Jesus told the disciples to get in that boat – the day there was a great storm coming.  He knew it was going to happen and yet, he told them to get in that boat, and then he went to take a nap.  He knew what was coming, they followed His instructions, His direction, and then He went to NAP!

They experienced the worst storm of their lives.  They thought they would die.

 I have felt like I was going to die at times when we are going thru the storms of life.  This current storm has taken a toll on me. 

I have felt like Jesus is not paying attention and I’m over here in the storm of my life.  What I know, is Jesus can calm this storm and every other storm, with one word or one thought or one snap of the finger, and yet He is allowing us to ride the waves, see the danger, and feel the pain. 

When He is ready He can stop the madness.  The thing I don’t want is for Him to look at me when things calm down and say,

 “Where is your faith?”

We have covered too much ground, too much time, been through too many storms to be found without faith.

 I know my God is faithful and I want to come to the other side of this storm, in this life, or in the one to come, and say:

I KNEW IT!!! KNEW IT THE WHOLE TIME!!! 

I KNOW HIM!!!

 We were in God’s hands and in His presence the whole entire time!  I want to have faith through the storm and sing His praises in the storm and on the other side.

I want to jump up and down in praise and joy like watching my favorite underdog team with all odds against us, win a championship! 

I don’t want to be embarrassed that I lost my faith or abandon my team in the heat of the battle.

Whichever way we go, we are in this storm, the boat is rocking, and the lightning is striking.

 We can respond in faith or fear. 

However we look at it, God is in complete control and He is faithful – We can respond in worship, prayer, and praise or we can respond in defeat, depression and despair.

I’ve been in the fear and depression mode, and the storm is still strong, but now I am full of hope and feeling encouraged, for I know Jesus is in this boat with us and He is very aware of what is going on.  When He is good and ready, He will calm the storm.

 I want to be the one at that little event, screaming and cheering the loudest; not the embarrassed one who lost the faith halfway through.

Call me crazy if you must…

I would rather be in the boat with Jesus, in His presence, experiencing the worst storms of life, than sitting on a sandy beach with an umbrella drink, wondering what is going on out at sea, and waiting for the storm to hit at any second.

Either way, storms are part of life!!!

I want to be in the boat with Jesus, get to the other side with Him, where there is never–ending

SON

 beauty and warmth, with food and drinks that satisfy forever. 

We will be in His presence forever with all the others who risked the safety and comfort of this little temporary beach house vaca, for jumping in a boat with Jesus, riding out the crazy storms of life, seeing and celebrating His power and presence eternally!!!

Luke 8:22-25  (ESV)

Jesus Calms a Storm

²² One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, ²³ and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. ²⁴ And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. ²⁵ He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”

Storm-Tossed Family Part 1

It wasn’t supposed to go like this……

I’m reading the book

Storm-Tossed Family

We are storm-tossed. 

I was really complaining to the Lord the other day.  The situation I have prayed about and poured the most energy of my life into, was looking grim. 

The things that are happening are the exact opposite of how I have prayed and envisioned.

As I was pouring out my heart, I felt the Lord so kindly remind me, that He has heard those prayers and THIS situation is exactly what He is using to answer those prayers.

 He doesn’t do things the way we envision.

 He isn’t interested in keeping up appearances, or our timeline, He is interested in our hearts and faith and trust in Him.

There have been several things over the last 15 years that we felt totally led by God to do, or get involved in.

 None of them have turned out the way we envisioned. 

They all actually turned out “storm-tossed” and messed up in a lot of ways.

All the scenarios were different, some were ministry related, some were family / relational and some were business / financial.

 Not one of them went the way we envisioned or planned.

Every situation was harder, messier, and took much longer than we thought. 

So when I hear people say, “Follow Jesus and you will have health and wealth and all you ever dreamed of.”

I just want to yell,

“FAKE NEWS.”

But, when I hear, “ Follow Jesus, count the cost, take up your cross, deny yourself,” I want to yell,

“GOOD NEWS.”

When Jesus came and told His disciples to “follow me” it didn’t go the way they thought either.  It went from miracles, healings and crowds of people, to death on a cross, and everyone scattering and

THEN

healing and

 RESURRECTION.

We want the picture perfect family, with the caption,

We followed Jesus and look at how great we are.

 

Instead, we get real life chaos, 

with the caption,

We found the greatest treasure in the entire world, His name is Jesus.

He is our greatest JOY!!!

 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 The Message (MSG)

^7-12 If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!

I'm Sure There Is A Lesson Here - 9 Month Marker

I saw this picture (thank you Tab) on FB on 9 months to the day of me and the kids driving out that driveway.  Charlie left 4 1/2 months later,  once the deal was completely finished. I was surprised at the emotion that this picture triggered in me.  The picture of this driveway took me down memory lane, which I don't do very often.  It made me thankful.  Thankful for the years we had in building that driveway into a freeway of sorts.  I wish we had a clicker to show how many times that driveway was driven, walked, ran and rode on. 

I thought 9 months was an appropriate time to see that picture.  In 9 months time, God can grow a baby in a womb, so I figure God has done something amazing in these 9 months, and maybe it's time to really see it and enjoy it. 

I also was asking the Lord, "I'm sure there is a big lesson or 500 in all this."  The things we have learned (that really matter) are all heart lessons.  The important lessons we have learned have very little to do with money. 

*It was in our most desperate times that we sensed and experienced God's presence and work in our lives the most.*

*Everything God is doing in our lives takes longer than we expect.*

*God's not asking us to be smarter, more frugal, and more responsible.  He is teaching us to be totally surrendered to Him, to ask Him continually what to do, where to go, how to move forward.  God is a good Father, that teaches us continually, and He isn't teaching us so we may pass a test and move on without Him.  He is teaching us so we learn more about Him and His ways, and His love for us.* 

We prayed and planned for over 8 years for this house drama scenario in our lives to play out very differently than it did.  Every time we saw a solution we went for it full force.  It never panned out the way we envisioned it.  It did pan out for our good though.

The lessons we have learned were lessons that drove us deeper in love, dependence, patience, perseverance, and submission to our Lord and Savior.

 We were so busy trying to save and secure our little 40 acre square on this planet that if it had gone the way we planned, we would have missed some major territory that God was ultimately growing in us.

 Something I've learned about myself: the more I have, the harder it is to give freely.  When I don't think I have much to lose, it's easy to give it all.  Maybe this is partly what Jesus meant when He talked about losing our lives for His sake.  I pray I always live to give freely, no matter what the bank balance says.

Matthew 16:25 New Living Translation (NLT)

25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

 I do hope and pray we own another chunk of land on this planet someday.  I pray we build a driveway in the middle of fresh dirt and turn it into a free-way where people feel free to come and go. 

For now, I'm thankful for where we are, even though it's very strange to us in many ways.

 Each baby I've carried for 9 months brought a fresh and amazing wave of love and a brand new set of blessings and challenges.  I pray this 9-month marker brings forth a fresh wave of love and brand new set of blessings and challenges.