After The Storm Blows Through...the Wayfarer 9/28/16

9/28/16

After The Storm Blows Through

Proverbs 10:25

King James Version (KJV)

²⁵ As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.

Once again I would address the fear and consternation being faced by a world that must be, and is being, shaken to its very foundations, that shaking having just begun, with far greater shaking yet to come.

Isaiah 13:13 KJV

¹³ Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

That shaking is the shaking of the coming storm brought on by the refusal to accept the existence and power of God, the refusal to bow before his will, to honor the commandments given that would keep that storm at bay, choosing instead to chase the same failed promises of false gods set up through the ideas and ideals of men who themselves think to outmaneuver that which is preordained, predestined, planned from the beginning by the Creator.

I would not dwell on the storm, only give warning of its existence and the fact that it approaches rapidly, that speed increasing daily despite those false promises made by those who have their foot on the accelerator instead of the brake.

Today’s title choice is not a hymn, but is an appropriate song choice in reminder that we do not face that storm alone, and that it shall pass indeed.

"After The Storm Blows Through"

You've been walking around with a dark cloud
Hanging over every step you take
Like the slightest breeze will knock you to your knees
Doing your best not to break
Wish I had the words to tell ya, but I got an umbrella
And I think it's big enough, for the both of us

I'll face that wind by your side
Even take on that rain, I don't mind,
Or give you space or give you time,
If you need me to,
But I'll be here for you
After the storm blows through

You know, you and me, we've been thick as thieves
You get cut I feel the pain
We're stuck together, no matter what the weather
And that ain't gonna change
I don't know how long the hurt'll hold on
Or when the sun will shine again
So until then...

I'll face that wind by your side
Even take on that rain, I don't mind,
Or give you space or give you time,
If you need me to,
But I'll be here for you
After the storm blows through
And your skies are blue again
And you're back to you again, my friend

I'll face that wind by your side
Even take on that rain, I don't mind,
Or give you space or give you time,
If you need me to,
But I'll be here for you
After the storm blows through

We have been given both the space and time spoken of in that last verse of this offering in verse, and the promise made at the end of it is a pale reflection of the promise made us by Christ Jesus, delivered by Him alone through His birth, life, ministry, sacrifice and RESURRECTION that is of itself that promise.

Haggai 2:3-9

King James Version (KJV)

³ Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?

⁴ Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts:

⁵ According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.

⁶ For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;

⁷ And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts.

⁸ The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.

⁹ The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts.

Each of the prophets delivering the warning, delivered the promise that came with that warning having been heeded.

The same applies today, there is a morning to come after the darkness subsides.

Light always bests darkness, that darkness cannot exist in the light when that light shines, it exists only in the absence of that light.

Once a storm has passed, what is left is exposed to the calm that allows the reshaping and remaking of what has been destroyed, built better, and far more able to withstand any storm yet to come.

Choices of building material must be selected with the storm in mind, workmanship must be equal to the material chosen, or each small shaking will once more wreak havoc on that which is built.

Those who have built with the shoddy materials offered by men and their false promises with the shoddy workmanship offered by those same men face calamity: those who have built and are building with the best material available, the WORD of God, and who trust the workmanship of the Master himself have no need of fear!

Haggai 14:1-27

14 For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.

² And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.

³ And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,

⁴ That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

⁵ The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.

⁶ He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.

⁷ The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.

⁸ Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.

⁹ Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

¹⁰ All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?

¹¹ Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

¹² How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

¹³ For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

¹⁵ Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

¹⁶ They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

¹⁷ That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

¹⁸ All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.

¹⁹ But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

²⁰ Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.

²¹ Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.

²² For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the Lord.

²³ I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.

²⁴ The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:

²⁵ That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.

²⁶ This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.

²⁷ For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

That question in the final verse of this passage was answered by Jesus, and His analogy of preparation for this storm remains the best ever given:

Matthew 7:24-27

King James Version (KJV)

²⁴ Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

²⁵ And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

²⁶ And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

²⁷ And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

His promise remains along with the warning given, for any and all willing to accept it despite the gloom of the approaching storm, gloom that need not be given attention if preparation has been made, with certainty of that storm passing to the calm that is destined to follow for those who have made that preparation.

Matthew 28:18-20

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

²⁰ 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.

I would conclude with a single question for each who faces this coming storm, each who takes breath today, have you made that preparation?

If not it is not yet too late to hear the warning given and make preparation for that storm.

“Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

As for me, and those having heard that warning and heeded it:

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.

Amen and Amen

the Wayfarer