We are to witness God everywhere we go but oftentimes, storms come that hinder, delay or stop us from doing so. To avoid the pitfalls of the storm, we must learn to trust and obey.
Jesus left all believers with an assignment. Some call it the great commission. That assignment has not been rescinded. We are still to reach the world with the good news of Jesus Christ. We are still to:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:19-20
And until the day Jesus returns, this assignment is to be carried out.
In studying the bible, you can see that the assignment existed in some form from the very beginning.
When Adam and Eve were created by God, the first command He gave them was to be "fruitful" and multiply in the natural world:
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Genesis 1:28
They were to plenish the earth the world with people in the image of God just as they were.
When God raised up the nation of Israel as a people through whom He could demonstrate His power and plan for the world, He called them to be spiritually reproductive:
Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. Thou preparedest room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars. Psalms 80:8-10
The "vine" which God brought out of Egypt was the nation of Israel. He wanted them to bear spiritual fruit by revealing the true God to the gentile nations around them. Instead, Israel became like the heathen. They began to worship idols and wanted a visible human king to reign over them instead of the invisible King of kings.
The command didn’t stop there, God sent His son Jesus who commissioned this present dispensation to witness and spread the good news.
This command didn’t stop in the midst of the horrific events that have occurred in the past year; one disastrous occurrence after the other. And it didn’t stop when the normalcy of life began to return. But some of us have become so weary, combat fatigued and disoriented because of what we’ve been through and yet the commission remains unchanged. We can continue with the commission because Jesus told us that He is with us even until the end of the earth. He kept His word and sent His spirit to reside within us! Our witnessing should be energized and fortified by the Holy Spirit so much so that we are able to produce more fruit; more believers in God. Our life should be sterling examples of Jesus. The world should not see blemishes, spots, wrinkles or any other thing that would cause them to not want to taste of the goodness of God in and thru us! This doesn’t mean that we don’t or won’t go through some storms, it doesn’t mean that we should be hypocritical in our living, what it means is that:
We have our handbook, the word of God to lead us, guide us and keep us in whatever situation we may find ourself. If you note in our handbook, the bible, despite the fact that the disciples were endued with power on high, the storms of life and assaults of the enemy still come. But my handbook also shows me that God is with me in the midst of the storm. Not only in the midst but before and after the storm.
Sadly, we’re living in a time when many of the saints of God have all but given up; they are defeated, discouraged and downtrodden, as if they have forgotten or don't know what the word of God, our handbook, tells us. Many, many are combat fatigued, shell-shocked and disoriented as we enter into this post-pandemic stage; we’ve fought for so long and so hard during the storm; endured one thing – one hardship after the other and it’s had a profound effect on us that we didn’t even realize until the storm subdued. But, thank God, there are so many scriptures that strengthen and sustain us, for instance, when Jesus lets us know:
Everything He teaches us is so that the peace which was in Him will be in us also and it will give us great confidence as we rest in Him. He lets us know that we don’t have to be fearful of the trouble and sorrows that come our way – we can be courageous, because He has already conquered the world!”
These things I have
spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have
tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John
16:33
And not only that, our suffering, trials and tribulations are not going to last always. Our handbook tells us God will powerfully restore us and make us stronger than ever. He will set us firmly in place and build us up. That’s what my handbook tells me!
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 1 Peter 5:10
Do you not know that we are in direct conflict with God when we succumb to discouragement and depression over the difficult situations of our life? We insult God when we show Him that we don't trust Him to deliver us from the storms of life. Please don’t misunderstand, the storm is there and it is real, but so is our God and He is bigger than the storm.
Instead of whining, crying, having a pity-party, quitting God, take this time to talk to God and ask Him to reveal to you what the storm is about and what He wants you to do not only in the midst of it but what to do when it is over. You trusted God to see you through the storm, now trust Him to see you out of the storm.
Learn to Worship God instead of whining to God; acknowledge His sovereignty in all things and situations - including yours!
Go in with faith, come out with faith, carry on in faith!
Another thing to understand is that storms in your life or suffering will come just as the word indicates. How you handle the storm will determine how you come out of it.
Understanding why you are in the storm is crucial. We have been a terrible season of suffering and for the most part we made it out as the world opens back up, we see efforts being made to right racial inequality, efforts made toward climate control – so in a sense, we can say we made it; we can come out of the storm shelter so to speak. But to come out, we have to understand where we’ve been, why we were there, what we’ve been through, the wounds inflicted, and the scars the wounds left. Not only that, we have to recognize that the terrain, the landscape, the environment has changed and so everything that we did prior to the storm can’t be done the same. Suffering is sometimes compared to a natural storm. When you suffer, you experience a storm spiritually speaking. Jonah when through a life-changing experience during his storm. He couldn’t go back to where he was. That place was a place of disobedience. His disobedience is what caused his storm.
This storm may affect you spiritually, mentally, physically, materially, and/or emotionally.
I want to share 3 biblical accounts of storms and the spiritual application of those storms.
The Bible tells of a great storm which the disciples of Jesus experienced; found in Mark 4:35-41, We can use this natural storm to describe how horrible our spiritual storms can be. In vs 37, it states:
And the same day, when the
even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.
And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was
in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. (37) And there arose a great storm of wind, and
the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in
the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say
unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and
rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased,
and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful?
how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and
said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea
obey him? Mark
4:35-41.
Our storms can be just as devastating as that; they buffet us to and fro and
overwhelm us in the process. No matter
why the storm came, Satan sees it as an opportunity to attack. Jesus had told the disciples to go to the
other side by way of boat with Him. Jesus was with them in the boat. Satan
didn’t care; he had a two-fold mission.
He wanted their focus and their faith off of Jesus through this
distraction; that in this case he sent. But
this was a faith building experience for the disciples that taught them to keep
their focus on Jesus. Secondly, the
storm was caused by Satan for the purpose of keeping Jesus from getting to the
other side. This ferocious tempest was
demonic in nature. Satan realized that Jesus
was stepping into territory he controlled on the other side of the lake. (See
Mark 5:1–20). Why do you say
that? Jesus would not have rebuked the
storm if it was sent from God. Satan was
trying to prevent them from reaching the shore because of the miraculous works
that were to be done in the country of the Gadarenes (Mark 5). Jesus
took authority over the storm. He rebuked the powers of the enemy. Calm
returned to the sea and they continued their journey unhindered. Once
there, He freed the man with the legion of demons, sent him forth to witness,
waited for the witness to take affect and then returned and preformed many more
miracles!
A storm of Satan is anything that tries to hinder us from fulfilling the will of God for our life. The will go God is for us to be a witness.
The disciples saw and experienced another side of the power of God. Don’t get distracted by the storms of Satan,
keep your focus on God and His sovereignty.
Remember, like in this case, our storms are not always a result of disobedience. Neither is this kind of suffering according to the will of God. God doesn’t want anything to hinder His plan for us. When we face this type of storm, exercise authority over the enemy. Don’t give into the storm, don’t run from the storm, but face it in the power and authority given us in the name of Jesus! Jesus has given us authority in His name over every satanic attack of Satan and the power through His spirit to overcome.
Let me also note that there were other small ships with them.
Because these other ships were following Jesus, they were also protected.
Surround yourself not only in the word and will of God, but with those who
share your same spiritual beliefs! Have someone close enough to you that
they see even if they don’t experience what you’re experiencing and they can begin
to pray and intercede on your behalf. There is definitely something to be said
about being in the company of other like-minded believers! This is not the time for us to pull away and
neglect the gathering together, as so many have formed the habit of doing. In
fact, we should come together even more frequently, eager to encourage and urge
each other onward as we anticipate the soon coming of our Lord and Savior:
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Hebrews 10:25
That was one account of a natural storm with a spiritual application. There are two other accounts of natural storms recorded in the Bible which illustrate spiritual application of storms we encounter in the course of our lives.
Stay tuned for the next blog . . .
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