I do apologize for this being posted so late, I didn’t even turn on the computer till just now. But today was a great day! After a trip to the chiropractor to fix a problem with my foot, (it seems that I’m a total klutz and did a total face plant in front of a bunch of people last weekend, and in the process jammed by ankle and twisted a tendon in my foot. I’m just talented like that…) I went over to my sweet friend’s house to help her with some housework and chat a little bit. Okay, we chatted a lot. I so appreciate her, because she asks me the hard questions. The questions that make me stop and think about what I really believe, and how I’m gonna change to become more Christ-like. Anyways, I’m before too long I will share more of what we talked about, but right now, I’m still chewing on it, so you will just have to wait!
There is one thing that she talked a little about. It’s kinda interesting because it’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about. In Matthew 8:23-27 it talks about when Jesus calmed the storm for His disciples.
23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
I have always loved that account! I always wished that my daddy could do that when I was little. I mean wouldn’t that be so cool, I just walk outside with Daddy, and He tells the wind to stop blowing, and it actually does. Talk about awesome! To a certain extent I still wish that my daddy could speak away the storms in my life, and be able to automatically heal my heart, but there’s only One person who can do that. Anyways, that’s not where I’m going with this.
Where on earth do we get the idea that the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe can’t take care of our problems. I mean honestly, that makes zero sense. But we are just like the disciples, whenever something hard comes along, we freak out. But have you noticed that whenever we freak out, God doesn’t always just immediately make the wind and the waves stop. Sometimes it seems like when we cry out to Him, the wind gets stronger.
Why does that happen?
Why doesn’t He just make all the pain go away instantly?
It’s because He wants us to run as fast as we can into His embrace. If He just immediately fixed all of our problems like a genie in a bottle, we would never get to have those intimate moments with our God. If you really think about it, it’s the same way in our relationships with other people. I’m way closer to my parents now, than I was 3 years ago when we left for Arkansas. My relationship with my dad has gotten a lot stronger sense the situation with Rich. I’m not going to pretend that I enjoyed the last month or two. No, not at all, I disliked it very muchly!! But there has been a sort of blessing in the midst of the turmoil. I’m closer to my God and my parents, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything. When we go through hard things with other people, and work through the hard situations, it brings us closer to the ones we love. It’s the same with God. He’s taken me down a hard road, and I didn’t like it; but I am so thankful for it. Sometimes God takes us through those hard things, to prove that His grace is sufficient. It really is! He’s a good God!
Today’s Blessings:
1. The time spent reconnecting with my sweet friend.
2. My God can calm storms!
3. The grace He gives when He doesn’t calm them instantly.
-Christy
These are the lyrics/video of a song that has been running through my head. It’s a great reminder of the sufficiency of our God.
“All who sail the sea of faith
Find out before too long
How quickly blue skies can grow dark
And gentle winds grow strong
Suddenly fear is like white water
Pounding on the soul
Still we sail on knowing
That our Lord is in control
Sometimes He calms the storm
With a whispered peace be still
He can settle any sea
But it doesn’t mean He will
Sometimes He holds us close
And lets the wind and waves go wild
Sometimes He calms the storm
And other times He calms His child
He has a reason for each trial
That we pass through in life
And though we’re shaken
We cannot be pulled apart from Christ
No matter how the driving rain beats down
On those who hold to faith
A heart of trust will always
Be a quiet peaceful place”
Blessings in Waiting 