Luke 8:22 Sea of Galilee. It's a small lake. 13 miles Long. 7 miles Wide. You can see from hill to hill. The Gennesaret Valley. Tiberias. Galilee. Capernaum. A fisherman knows that a storm on this fresh water lake is deadly, like 10-foot-high waves. Sea in Hebrew is "yam" meaning "to roar." A storm stirs the surf and sends crashing waves with a pitch of noise like none other. Scary sea. So when the windstorm came up suddenly, the fishermen knew they were trapped in the turf and in deadly trouble.
There's a storm brewing in my own life right now. A devastating one. So I took a walk under the moon as I felt panic coming over me this evening as we pulled in from the Passion Conference. I prayed for God to please speak to me in my panic. It's been a while since I've had a panic attack, but it's still way-too-familiar. That grueling feeling was all over me. God, just like in Luke 8:23, I'm in danger. They awakened the Master. I love it that He rebuked the storm, not the disciples.
It's natural to feel afraid in the eye of the storm. It's holy to feel peace looking into the Eyes of our Master. And, as I prayed, a "tweet" twittered on my cell. I thought I couldn't possibly read it in the pitch black of the night with no street lights on Zuni Trail. For some odd reason, I interrupted the prayer and peered hard to see who it was from. The tweet was from someone I've never met, a man I don't know. I read it anyway. It wasn't from man. It was from God to me. Here's the tweet:
No need to panic.
The One who called you to where you now are
supplies all you need
to do what he's commanded you to do there.
Paul Tripp
I love your tweet, Bev. How amazing is our God!
ReplyDeleteThis morning I found a book of prayers, I would like to share.
Isaiah 6:4-5--"You Come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways, O God."
Psalm 31:7-8--"I will be glad and rejoice in your love O Lord, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place."
Psalm 62:5-6--"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken."
I love the tweet, too! How cool!
ReplyDelete"...and their fruit does not mature."
Oh how I want more than anything to be mature!
I know a lot about panic--it's been a theme in my life, and I truly believe though it is an affliction, it is sin. Like Bev said the other day, the Bible says 365 times don't fear. He knows our tendencies. Fear says "I don't trust You to take care of it." Fear says, "You aren't always good or there is an evil force bigger than You." Fear lies to us. Fear causes us to stumble.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad Bev got to go to the Holy Land and can add real details that make the stories come alive in our readings. Bev, the storm is real, but so is our bigger God. Praying for you and your loved one this morning.
He said to them, "Where is your faith?" I love that
1. Jesus is with us in the storm and
2. He makes it clear that we are safe even in the storm.
3. He reminds us to believe it is all okay because He is with us. The storms still come, but no need to worry. He'll see us through safely to the Shore.
First of all Mama Pearl the Beautiful Bev, your post as usual blesses me beyond measure. Getting to know you over these past two plus years and seeing God's amazing Grace as you have been so transparent has grown my faith. The fact that you were given a free trip as birthday gift to Israel last November was more than huge. And today one more time I receive the benefit of your knowledge having never actually been to Israel. I am also thrilled you were able to be part of Passion. Your gift of love for the LORD and young people is a gift to be shared.
ReplyDeleteThen as you return home and begin to have an issue, God gives you a huge gift. One more time encouraging me and others to TRUST Him no matter what. He is a Good God. Oh Bev, I am so blessed as I learn more of God from you and other Pearls on this Blog.
This is a Song I must Sing, Sylvia
So thankful that God showed up for you through that tweet and that you were able to see it just when you needed....that is definitely a line for a gratitude journal...what a Big God..He does care about the things that concern your heart and is listening to your cries and responding...
ReplyDeleteI have found that often times, He will calm me and not the storm that has encircled me. Praying for what concerns you and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He will take care of what concerns you. Remember what you gave me..2 Chronicles 20:12....
"in time of testing fall away..."
ReplyDeleteRocky places...thorny places...the seed struggles and dies.
But good soil increases the seed a hundredfold.
What is faith?
Hearing and doing.
Mustard-seed size.
Eyes on the eternal, not on the temporal.
I don't understand it. It makes no sense at all. But there are times where I am just overwhelmed with the cares of the day and I turn and seek His face. I stop and tell Him I need Him. And His Word speaks to me. "Do not fear. I will help you." And He is faithful.
Bev, no words, just tears. Christ is here. He sees. Hold tighter.
Praying for our kids tonight as they are both in panic mode. It's SO hard to be a parent. I know He knows and is concerned about them too. It takes a lot of trust for me to be grateful in the midst of this one.
ReplyDeleteGood night... Peace.
"Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you."
ReplyDeleteUp to now, Jesus had asked those He healed not to say anything because His Time had not yet come. Most of the time, they did run and tell even though they were instructed not to. When God touches your life, it seems counter-indicative not to speak out. You can't help but testify. Yet I hear believers every day downplay miracles in their lives. "Well, maybe it was going to happen anyway," or "everything just lined up right." Whatever, they are not giving God the glory He deserves. Even if it is explainable, it's still God.
"Nothing is to be done "without Christ"; without his Spirit, grace, strength, and presence; or as "separate from" him. Were it possible for the branches that are truly in him, to be removed from him, they could bring forth no fruits of good works, any more than a branch separated from the vine can bring forth grapes; so that all the fruitfulness of a believer is to be ascribed to Christ, and his grace, and not to the free will and power of man."--John Gill.
Let's go and tell today--how much God has done for us!