“When the Tempest Rages”...the Wayfarer 2/22/14

“When the Tempest Rages”
 2/22/14

“And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was great calm.

And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it

that ye have no faith.

(Mark 4:39&40)

When I awoke this morning, I was greeted by the sounds of a storm raging outside, thunder crashed and lightning lit the early morning sky as the rain pelted down on a winter day warmed enough by God to be that rain instead of the snow that came through with still another storm not that long ago.

As is my habit, I sat with my morning coffee, allowing my body to once more acclimatize to the state of wakefulness after having been refreshed by sleep, and as with each day, turned to the news to see what new occurrences had happened as I slumbered.

There too, I was greeted with the storm of all the troubling things manifesting themselves in various parts of the globe, with little else of any importance having been mentioned.

It was this storm that lay heavily on my mind as I lay down to get the much needed rest to prepare for this new day that faces me, with still more storms in store, yet another tempest to overcome, yet more trials to face as that day progresses.

There will be wars, and rumors of wars discussed by pundits, there will be reports of the atrocities committed throughout the confines of nations who seemingly never have peace of any real and lasting nature.

Reports of unexplained earthquakes, still a different kind of storm were reported on yet another source of my daily diet of the news to which I am admittedly addicted.

Persecution and martyrdom, persist in the very cradle of Christianity, as warring factions seek an upper hand in the means of governance of nations whose tolerance of that Christianity becomes less and less existent, as does their tolerance of the beliefs they claim to have in common even with each other.

Greed and avarice still feed the comments and the fire which threaten to topple the entire rule of law that has kept the race from extermination by itself for so long.

Promises made by men continue to be violated causing further grief, pain and poverty to the already impoverished, giving way to predictions of dire and dreadful things yet to come.

In short, the beginnings of sorrows continues to progress as was predicted by Christ Jesus, and would attempt to overwhelm and devour all that I love and hold dear, if I were to allow my concentration to be directed only to that storm which rages, and which may only intensify as I come into the “golden” years of a waning life.

Surrender would be quite easy, were the only hopes I had that of those making great and lofty speeches, promising to extend a hand to enemies who would chop that hand from the body of the one extending it. Those same promises of peace and prosperity for all by means of the redistribution of the world’s wealth assuage none of the anger, and only feed the fire of the greed that causes so much misery would be acceptable alternatives, if I were gullible enough to accept the infallibility of those who would deny the power of my God, and attempt to replace it with their own power.

“Well, gloomy Gus, what do you think is the answer?” is, I am sure the question being asked by this point by any reading this, who like myself see the chaos to come, the storm that has only begun.

The answer lies in Christ’s ability to calm the tempest for those He holds dear, just as He did for the disciples whose fear roused him from rest as their journey took them from place to place, from faith only in their own ability to fend for themselves to the faith in Him to quiet and subdue that storm, again, in short, to endure.

I repeat that question asked of them that night, why be so fearful, where is your faith?

Paul admonished us to walk by faith, not by sight, and even gave us the best definition of what that faith is in writings to peoples faced with much the same trials faced today.

It is that faith that sustains me daily, as I not only see and rear the raging of that storm, but also call to mind the requirement to endure and the promise of salvation for those who do.

I could most easily slip into the doldrums of the poor pitiful mes, and end this message with the thought that as time progresses, there is much worse yet to come, if I did not have the promise of the end of those things as well.

It is the end of those things, and the means to that end to which we must cling, and preach, and make apparent to any and all willing to listen still, and are not yet deceived by the promises and teachings of mankind.

It is the promise made by Christ that the storm will be subdued, that a far better, calm, and peaceful day, awaits at the end of that storm available to all who heed the simple message of redemption through repentance that can, and will, sustain all who are able to find that redemption despite the storm.

Dismay is easy to find, surrender is easy to do. Neither carries any reward but death, both physical and spiritual.

Endurance requires that no compromise be accepted. It requires constant and prayerful attention and resistance to the things that give strength to that storm.

As the storm rages, shelter must be sought, and can only be found in the One capable of providing that shelter.

“Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

Eyes must be focused of the prize at the end of the storm, not on the storm itself.

This in no way gives reason for complacency, and acceptance of that storm, but gives instead the reason to combat that storm by any means possible while in expectation, hope and faith that that shelter is sufficient to all who believe, and is still available to any and all others willing to meet the requirements of walking and living by faith, and a steadfast refusal to surrender to any except Christ himself, the only means to receive that shelter.

I close once again in prayer, for my nation, my people, and indeed all nations and all peoples to recognize the availability of that shelter, to both seek it out and find it.

I pray that all see that it is an individual choice to be made of where to turn in that storm, and that that shelter is not capable of being given by any others, despite the lofty promises and speeches that have always proven the falsity and fallibility of those giving them.

I pray for others to seek the same shelter sought and found by this simple sinner, saved by the grace of the One capable of fulfilling the promise given, the One I still readily, and enthusiastically serve as the soldier I have been chosen to be, Whom I shall continue to serve until that service is deemed to have been completed by Him.

Let the storm rage. Bring it on!

2 Timothy 1:12 King James Version (KJV)

¹² For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Even so come quickly Lord Jesus.

Amen and Amen.
the Wayfarer