Stormy Weather? What’s the Foundation of YOU?

Where can I go to get away from your Spirit?
    Where can I run from you?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there.
    If I lie down in the grave, you are there.
If I rise with the sun in the east
    and settle in the west beyond the sea,
even there you would guide me.
    With your right hand you would hold me.

I could say, “The darkness will hide me.
    Let the light around me turn into night.”
But even the darkness is not dark to you.
    The night is as light as the day;
    darkness and light are the same to you.

You made my whole being;
    you formed me in my mother’s body.
I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way.
    What you have done is wonderful.
    I know this very well.
You saw my bones being formed
    as I took shape in my mother’s body.
When I was put together there,
you saw my body as it was formed.
All the days planned for me
    were written in your book
    before I was one day old.

God, your thoughts are precious to me.
    They are so many!
If I could count them,
    they would be more than all the grains of sand.
When I wake up,
    I am still with you.

God, I wish you would kill the wicked!
    Get away from me, you murderers!
They say evil things about you.
    Your enemies use your name thoughtlessly.
Lord, I hate those who hate you;
    I hate those who rise up against you.
I feel only hate for them;
    they are my enemies.

God, examine me and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any bad thing in me.
    Lead me on the road to everlasting life.”

God KNOWS you!  He knows you!  The good, the bad and the ugly!  Basically, (even though you may be reading this fully clothed), you are naked before Him.  Like someone with x-ray vision – GOD SEES YOU.  Personally, I think that is a good thing, because often times I cannot find the words to say what’s going on in my head.  I find it comforting that as I sat here this morning (as I wrote in my opening sentence of this post) – I cannot always find the right words to express what is going on in my head or in my heart, but Holy Spirit reassures me that He knows.  HE KNOWS… We should find peace in that…

What do I think Jesus’ is saying to us this day?  Everything that is going on in the world, all the chaos,  is vey similar to the story in the Bible where the apostles (with Jesus sleeping in the bow) are panicking in the boat during a storm, written in Mark 4:38-40:

“Jesus was inside the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow. The followers went and woke him. They said, “Teacher, don’t you care about us? We are going to drown!”

Jesus stood up and gave a command to the wind and the water. He said, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind stopped, and the lake became calm.

He said to his followers, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

After all Jesus had taught them, after ALL Jesus had shown them, after ALL they had experienced – STILL they questioned how Jesus felt about them. Is it a wonder that Jesus’ reply sounded a bit aggravated?  Before we get on our own “high horses” let’s check our own selves, because I have a newsflash for you:  

Same waves DIFFERENT era.  We STILL respond the SAME way.

There is NOTHING new under the Son (and yes I meant to write it like that…).  When Jesus returns, what will He find upon the earth?  Will He find “faith-filled” prayer warriors who know how the story ends?  Or will He find fearful followers who are curled up in fetal positions cringing from an enemy that Jesus’ already defeated?

Jesus told us in John 16:33:

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

What are we to be? BE OF GOOD CHEER!  Are YOU of good cheer?  I know there are times when I’ve forgotten that myself. BE-OF-GOOD-CHEER!!!

That’s not a “fake-it-till-you make it” statement – that’s more of a let’s make sure we are “faithing-it-till-we-make-it” statement.  We need to check our faith!  Daily faith checks probably should be like a “check your engine oil” kind of thing, if you find your faith is low – go right to the Word of God and “fill ‘er up!”  SPEAK those promises out loud.  GOOGLE THEM, WRITE THEM DOWN, RECITE  THEM!  Put on some praise music and lift up your arms and your head up to the One who made the victory of whatever it is  you are going through possible!  Whatever it is you have to do to “be of good cheer” DO IT. 

Oh, I’m not saying it is easy ( I’m even writing these words as a reminder to myself)! When I was little girl, and I was afraid of the dark when it was bedtime, I would sing quietly to myself, with the covers pulled up to my chin, trying to calm the fear down.

God gave us His Word FILLED with promises, FILLED with hope, FILLED with direction and encouragement for times SUCH as these!

If you weren’t feeling well and you went to see the doctor, and the doctor gave you a prescription, would you just buy the prescription and leave it on your bedside looking at it wondering why it wasn’t working?!  God’s Word is medicine for EVERY and ANY situation you could possibly go through – you just have to read it and then apply it!

Jesus did not say life would be easy, but He did tell us that He would be there with us until the end of time. It’s okay to admit how you are feeling in this crazy day and age.  It’s even okay to shed those tears and have a good ol’ fashion cry!  It’s okay to look up and say, “God, I just don’t get it!”  God is not afraid of your “why God?” statements!  But after you pull yourself together, it’s time to straighten up your back and raise your chin, the storm may be fierce around us – but the One who calms the storm resides within us!  Oh yes!  There is NOTHING that surprises Him. We should find comfort in that! The Bible tells us in Romans 8:38-39:

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

So, when you come to think about it – what are we afraid of? (See, are  those waves starting to reside and calm down a little??):

If “My steps are ordained by God” (see Psalm 37:23) – then nothing that happens to me catches God unaware.

If “He has plans to prosper me and not to harm me, but give me hope of and a future” (see Jeremiah 29:11 ) -Then all my ordained days are safe in Him.

If “He is the Author and Finisher of my faith” (see Hebrews 12:2 ) Then from beginning to end – God has written my story.

If “He has prepared a place for me” (see John 14:3 ) Then wherever I am He is with me.

If “He has made me the head and not the tail” (see Deuteronomy 28:13 ) – then I am ahead and not behind.

If “Greater is He that is me, than he that is within the world” (See 1 John 4:4) – then I have nothing to fear, because God is with me.

These are just a few – tell me, what were we concerned about at the beginning of this post? 😉  If you belong to Jesus, then no matter WHAT comes your way – GOD HAS GOT YOU.  It doesn’t matter how bad the situation is – Hey, YOU belong to the One who conquered death!  What is that little problem that’s got you cowered??? Give it to Jesus.  Bring it before the cross. LET IT GO.  TRUST IN HIM.  Things may not seem the way we thought it would be – God’s thoughts and purpose is HIGHER than ours, this is why we need to walk prayerfully in Him, talking to Him, listening to Him, trusting Him, growing in Him, we CANNOT sustain ourselves without Him and time and time again this world is proof as to why we shouldn’t want to. In John 15:1-8 Jesus said:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^{You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.} Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

Oh beloved, we should find immense confidence in peace in all of that.  We were created with the purpose of being in fellowship with the One who created us!  Our trust was never meant to be in ourselves or in our circumstances – it was ALWAYS to be completely in Him.  Thanks be to God that during those times when life feels “out of control” and the waves are causing the boat of life to toss to and from that we have a God that SEES ALL THINGS and is the “CALMER OF STORMS” because we can rest assured, that our destinations are in the Father’s hands, and NO MATTER how WE feel. He is in complete control. He ALWAYS was, ALWAYS is and ALWAYS will be, the Comforter of EVERY storm. Thanks be to God.