Stormy Weather

Storms
And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. Matthew 8:26
We can avoid storms in our lives about as often as we can divert weather patterns over our city. Go stand outside and try. The reality is you will always face times of uncertainty. In the landscape of your life, you will enjoy a few blue-sky days, but mostly there will always be a dark cloud gathering somewhere on the horizon of your life, reminding you of the daily need to trust God with tomorrow. You can’t set your hope on the illusion that somehow you’re going to sort everything out one day. There will always be enough to keep you on your knees. And just about the time you think, I don’t really need to pray that much this week—wham. Face it; on this side of eternity, there will never be a day when you won’t need to trust the God who loves you.My future and yours will be ravaged by the waves until we embrace the fact that God allows these storms for our good. He won’t let us drown. Can you imagine how it would have wrecked the Gospels if it went down like this: There was this storm and Jesus was asleep and four of the disciples drowned? Of course not! He would not let them--nor will He let you--drown.But back in the moment, the disciples were wild with fear. Even the professional fishermen knew things were out of control. In the original language the disciples said just this: “Lord, save!”Notice Jesus’ response to them: “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26). Bible scholars debate whether or not that was a rebuke. Matthew was clearly fond of reporting how many times Jesus said it: First, here in Matthew 8:26, when they feared the storm; then in Matthew 14:31, when Peter took his eyes off the Lord and began to sink; again in Matthew 16:8, when they forgot about the miracle of multiplying bread; and again in Matthew 17:20, when they failed to heal the demon possessed boy. “O you of little faith!”—Jesus said it to them a lot. In my mind’s eye, I see Him smiling when He says it here in the storm. I think it’s tender, like He’s saying, “You don’t get it yet, do you?” He’s not mad at them, but sad that they didn’t think He could take care of them.Makes you wonder how often He says “O you of little faith!” to us.

Keep At It
In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, thatwhere I am you may be also. John 14:2-3
What do you think of when you think of heaven? The Bible gives us a glimpse.
Golden streets and gates of pearls.No more death, no more sickness, no more sin, no more sorrow.No more good-byes, no more tears, no more time.No more relational pain, no more pride, no more hurt feelings.No more physical pain, no more disabilities, no more pills, no surgeries.No more looking ahead, no more counting time, no more anticipation of the end. (Revelation 18:16; 21:21; 21:4)
When Jesus said He was going to prepare a place for us (John 14:2-3), we knew it was going to be something special. Yet in spite of what the Bible says about heaven, there’s still a lot of confusion about our final destination down here. Somehow in our culture of trinkets and trivia we have lost sight of the fact that though Jesus Christ immeasurably improves our lives here and now, our greatest days are yet ahead.
I don’t think we will ever get over the nearness of God in eternity.
Revelation 21:3 describes the scene yet to come: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.’”
When we get to heaven, God is no longer behind the veil, no longer present by His Holy Spirit alone. He is no longer across the crystal sea. He’s with us.
When we dwell with God we’ll be able to sit down and talk with Christ. And we’ll never run short on time. I’ve got some things I need to know. I’ve wanted to ask some questions for a long time. Like, what was it like to be the Creator of the universe, yet grow up on earth as a boy? And what was it like working at the carpentry shop? And what was walkin’ on the water like?
Then I want to understand the cross. I want to know what was on His mind when He gave Himself up like He did. The price that You paid . . .
I want to hear it all right from His lips.
Then I have a lot of questions about my life. Don’t you have your questions? Some that we carry around are very dark and painful. But we’re gonna sit there at His feet throughout all eternity. Our questions will be answered.
Wounded and battered by the struggles of this life, you will step into eternity and fall into your Father’s arms. And “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
The word tear in this verse is symbolic of life’s pain. Notice who’s going to wipe away the tears—God will. Jesus Himself will raise His nail-pierced hand to your cheek and look into your eyes and wipe away your tears. Every hope that’s been dashed and every shattered dream you’ve experienced--every time your heart was broken--all of the pain and anguish of life--will be eliminated, gone, wiped away. The things over which we silently anguish will be gone.
No funerals. No caskets. No tombstones. No sudden loss of loved ones. No heartrending good-byes. No more death.
The time we have left on earth is short. Eternity is long. Let this reminder stir you to keep at it till that day.