Beginning the day in prayer! Father, With Your arms, opened wide, there’s a place for us to always run to. Your sanctuary is open with love, grace, mercy, salvation, provision, & healing just to name a few things on the infinite list of Your goodness, knowing that goodness comes from the manifestation of Your grace through Christ Jesus.
Losing a child is an unimaginable pain—one no Mother should ever have to endure. The heartbreak is deep, and the days feel heavier than words can express. Through this overwhelming grief, I KNOW THAT GOD IS ON MY SIDE. The love and support from family and friends have been a source of strength. Thank you to everyone who has reached out with condolences, prayers, and kindness. Your support means more than you know.
Today's Reading:
Your Storms Will NEVER Be Powerful Enough To Short-Circuit The Power Of The God You Serve! Remember: Even Jesus Himself had to face storms: “Have You Ever Seen A Storm Last Forever? Absolutely Not!
If you are going through a storm, know that it is temporary. In the End, You May Just Make It By On Broken Pieces. That Does Not Change the Fact & Truth, That You Still Made It! Jesus Made It To The Crown, But Not Without The Cross. Enemies, Spit, Mockery, Piercing, Tomb, Grave, Nails, Pain, Suffering, Agony, Blood, Sweat, etc. Yes, He made it, but it was a horrible journey. And yet He didn’t stop and take down the sails, He stayed the course, because there was too much Purpose and Promise on the other side of this. Likewise, it is for you! He Stayed The Course And So Can You.
Acts 27:44, "the rest were to follow, holding on to the planks or some broken pieces of the ship. And this was how we all got safely ashore.” (GNT)
The Surprise About Your Storm Is, That You’re STILL ON COURSE! Jesus Went Through The Storm, But He Ended Right On Course. Paul Went Through The Storm But He Landed Right On Course. Peter And The Disciples Went Through The Storm But They Were Still On Course. I Know The Storm Blew Some Stuff All Over The Place, Some People Were Expecting You To Be Destroyed In The Storm: But Look At God. You see, a storm is a classic embodiment of that familiar phrase, “Due to circumstances beyond our control…” Ever heard that line?
Well, maybe you’re there right now, and you know what, The truth is, it’s easy to give up hope. I know church folks will tell you that’s not supposed to ever happen to a believer. But the truth is, life can get hard, and heartbreaking. It’s difficult to keep praises on your lips or to keep joy when you’ve lost loved ones back-to-back.
It’s not easy to keep shouting when your marriage is screaming divorce. It’s rough trying to teach Sunday school to other children when your own don’t even attend. Life is not easy! No, not even for the believer. So never beat yourself up when you have a moment of lost hope, it happens to the best of us, from the pulpit to the door (whether we admit it or not)! However, before you feel as if your lost hope can never be found again, keep this in mind: The Outcome of the Story Is What You Need to Take Note Of! Acts 27:44 declares, “…Everyone Reached Land Safely.”
Now, I don’t know where your storm is right now, but maybe something is blowing your life out of control: (a marriage conflict; a troubled child; a financial crisis; a health scare; a job loss; or a ministry transition). Whatever your storm is, it’s blowing fiercely and hard! And to make matters worse, you've already tried everything to get it back to smooth sailing, and yet, all you see in all directions is nothing but complete and utter chaos!
And if you’re one of those tremendously blessed folks who are not in a storm Right Now, Just Stay Tuned; Your Forecast Will Change Just Like the Rest of Us! That’s just the way life is. Before you know it, out of nowhere, the wind blows, the waves are high, the lightening is bright, the thunder is loud, the foundation is shaky, the cold airs of conflict and crisis strike, and you’re wondering if you’ll Survive the Storm! We all get them, so if you haven’t YET, simply Stay Tuned!
However, for those who feel that In Your Life Right Now Things Are Completely Out of Control By the Storms of Life, You’ll Most Definitely Be Able to Relate to Paul’s Storm in Acts 27!
What was happening was that Paul was being taken by Roman soldiers on a grain ship from Israel to Rome. They had a lot of water to cross to get from where Israel was to cross the ocean and to get over to Italy where they needed to be, and in the middle of all this, they encountered a terrible storm that lasted for fourteen days. Hurricane strength, we’re told in Acts 27:20,
“When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.” (NIV). Now, if you’ve ever felt like all your points of reference were gone, like Acts 27:20, you couldn’t see the “…sun, the moon, the stars…” –Which Are All Things You Can Usually Count On To Be There As Your Day-to-Day, Consistent Point of Reference. When That’s Gone, The Storm Is Bad! The things you were able to hang on to before, They’re No Longer There! That one song that used to encourage you, now you can't remember one verse of it, that friend whose shoulder used to be available for you to lean on has vanished into thin air, that Scripture that would pop into your head right when you were ready to throw in the towel (and now you have no idea what book of the Bible it’s even found in). It feels as though all you used to Depend on has somehow Disappeared into the Darkness of the Storm!
However, before you feel as if your lost hope can never be found again, keep this in mind: The Outcome of the Story Is What You Need to Take Note Of! Acts 27:44 declares, “…Everyone Reached Land Safely.” They were blown into the rocks after two weeks, But It Says, IN THE END, They Were On An ISLAND! And in chapter 28 we find out the ISLAND was called MALTA! Do you know where Malta is? IT’S ON THE SOUTHERN COAST OF ITALY! Why is that such good news? Because, regardless of a Violent Storm, They Ended Up Right Where They Were Heading All Along! Oh, they’d been out of control for two weeks or so it seemed, BUT THE WHOLE TIME THEY HAD BEEN OUT OF CONTROL, THEY HAD ACTUALLY BEEN RIGHT ON COURSE, AND SO ARE YOU!
Nahum 1:3 says, “…The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and the storm, and the clouds are the dust beneath His feet.” (AMP)
When you’re in the storms of life, don’t look at the storm or its effects, look for God, He can always be seen in the storm! Be Not Discouraged! The Lord Is Still In Control of Your Care and Course…Despite the Storm!
Believe It Or Not, As Bad As It Looks, His Ways Still Work…Even In the Storms of Life! And for a bonus, God speaks in storms too! “And now, finally, GOD answered Job from THE EYE OF A VIOLENT STORM…” (Job 38:1 MSG) Never feel as though storms have the power to cut off your communication from God. He sees you; He hears you, He speaks to you, He’s there with you! Even when the storm is Violent it can’t silence His Voice! So, make sure that while you’re in the storm, you keep your ears open, the Lord has a wonderful way of communicating calmly even amid chaos! Listen to the Bible: “Late that day he said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side.” They took him in the boat as he was. Other boats came along. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, “Teacher, is it nothing to you that we’re going down?” Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, “Quiet! Settle down!” The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith at all?” They were in absolute awe, staggered. “Who is this, anyway?” they asked. “Wind and sea at his beck and call!” (Mark 4:35-41 MSG) Your storm is never designed to take you out! You must remember what happened BEFORE the storm took place: The Bible says, "…He said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side.” The best lifesaver in the storms of life is to always remember what “…HE SAID…”! He didn’t suggest going, He said LET’S GO! When God is with you never let what’s around you distract you from the direction, He’s already given you! If HE SAID let’s go across to the other side, it doesn’t matter what takes place along the journey, one way or another you will reach the other side! Remember: Your Storm is Keeping You On Course! Yes, Even With All of Its’ Chaos! Therefore, Never Allow the Sound of the Storm to Drown Out What God Has Already Said!
Your Storms Will NEVER Be Powerful Enough To Short-Circuit The Power Of The God You Serve! Remember: Even Jesus Himself had to face storms: “Right now I AM STORM-TOSSED. And what am I going to say? ‘Father, get me out of this’? No, this is why I came in the first place. I’ll say, ‘Father, put your glory on display.” A voice came out of the sky: “I have glorified it, and I’ll glorify it again.” (John 12:27-28 MSG) Jesus Himself was “…STORM-TOSSED…” yet He determined to endure it because it would display the glory of the Father! And as bad as your storm is, and as violently as it’s tossing you to and fro, don’t give up, give out, or give in! Stick it out! You will eventually arrive at your destination and there will be glory after this!
Paul Was Destined For Italy, and the Storm Would Not Be A Distraction, But a Driving Force to Ensure He Made It There! And Not Just Made It There But Made It There With the Testimony of What He Had to Make It Through To Get There! And if it’s anyone who has a testimony of endurance, it’s certainly Paul! The Bible says, “I’ve worked much harder, been jailed more often, beaten up more times than I can count, and at death’s door time after time. I’ve been flogged five times with the Jews’ thirty-nine lashes, beaten by Roman rods three times, pummeled with rocks once. I’ve been shipwrecked three times and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day. In hard traveling year in and year out, I’ve had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, and struggle with foes. I’ve been at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storms, and betrayed by those I thought were my brothers. I’ve known drudgery and hard labor, many long and lonely nights without sleep, many missed meals, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather. And that’s not half of it when you throw in the daily pressures and anxieties of all the churches. When someone gets to the end of his rope, I feel the desperation in my bones…” (2 Corinthians 11:23-29 MSG) Now, if Paul can survive THAT, you can survive THIS!
Listen: Your Storm Will Not Be a Straight Path To Your Destination! And After All, Who Wants to Hear the Boring Story of How You Left Here, and Simply Made It Straight There, With No Bumps, Bruises, or Brokenness…Who Can Relate To That?! That’s Why Your Storm Is Adding Streets, Paths, Cliffs, Dead-Ends, U-Turns, Corners, Hills, Avenues, Back Alley, Valleys and More to Your Story’s Journey! People Will Be Able to Relate to What You’ve Been Through, and then Further Be Encouraged to Know That They Can and Will Make It Through Just the Same!
When you need God knows. When you ask, God listens and when you believe, God Works. It may look like your situation is never going to change, but in a split second, God can completely resolve it. Lord, today please show us verses you want us to pray so we can see Your Word Come Alive in our circumstances and become active in our life.
Some of you today have had unfair things happen; life has not turned out as you hoped. God is saying "If you rise out of those ashes, and put on a new attitude, I'll not only bring you out, but I will bring you out with twice what you had before." Every season needs faith to get us through it. God's dawn of deliverance often comes when the hour of trial is darkest.
Believe that every wall that's been holding you back is going to come tumbling down. Don't focus on what's tearing you apart, focus on Who is holding you together. Everything we do for God may not always feel good to our flesh. Regardless of your circumstances, knowing that Christ Jesus is with you, you can enjoy the journey.
You may feel like you’re either going nowhere right now or you’re on the verge of utter shipwreck disaster; maybe on the verge of being blown on the rocks even to crash and burn. But remember, the surprise in the storm is this: GOD STILL CONTROLS SEEMINGLY OUT-OF-CONTROL TIMES! He uses them to blow His children right where they were supposed to go all along!
If you think about it, Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall, all come year after year, and neither ever rush to get here, yet they come faithfully and consistently! For as long as Earth lasts, planting, and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never stop. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. In other words, all the things that God has set or better yet “pre-ordained” for your life Will Occur, in their proper season! Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit.
When you have a friend walking through a personal STORM, INSTEAD of being a weatherman and spreading the news, TRY being an UMBRELLA and COVER THEM with LOVE.
You may think your situation is permanent. All the facts are telling you it’s impossible. In case you didn’t know, might I inform you that you’re too important to God to be destroyed by a trial that was just meant to give you character and direction? In other words, you Survived! By the Grace of God, You Made It! And God not only brought you through the valley, but He caused you to grow in it and come out of it Stronger and With Deeper Roots for Stability for Future Struggles!
Life May Have Knocked U Down, But It Hasn't Knocked U Out. What's At Work Within U Will Triumph Over What's At Work Against YOU! We Don't Pray to Inform God, We Pray to Involve God. God Already Know What's Going On In Your Life. Never count God out, no matter how bad things look.
SO DON’T LET THE STORM DISCOURAGE YOU, DISTRACT YOU OR DISHEARTEN YOU! THE BOTTOM LINE IS: THAT THE STORM IS KEEPING YOU ON COURSE! YOU WILL SURVIVE AND YOU WILL HAVE AN AWESOME STORY AND TESTIMONY TO TELL ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORM!
