RIDING THE STORM by Larry W Peebles July 5, 2019 19.23
This did not look like anything to cause concern. Saturday evening about 10 pm in late spring, I watched the weather radar in anticipation of a line of storms expected to move through our area. The last time I looked, the approaching storm cell did not appear huge. The colors of the cell on the radar indicated some wind and lightning within the storm, and a small area of high intensity activity. I turned off the radar, and went back to preparing to end the day and retire to bed.
A short while later the storm hit. My wife and I noticed a sudden increase of lightning and thunder, followed quickly by howling wind and heavy rain. Based on what I had last seen on radar, I was surprised by the power of the storm. It was somewhat intimidating in that it reminded of how small and weak we can feel when confronted by the forces of nature. My wife and I prayed for our neighbors and our own safety, and for the protection of our property. Then to show that I was not intimidated, I forced myself to open the front door to see what was happening.
The wind was so intense a sudden burst almost took the door handle out of my hand. I had to grip hard to hold it and keep it from slamming into the wall. Lightning flashes and explosions of thunder were non-stop. I could see by the outdoor light shining from the corner of the garage that the rain, tree branches and leaves were sailing sideways across the driveway and front porch. My wife was about to express her concern that I was standing in the open doorway when suddenly something hit the house with a loud thump. I quickly stepped back to close and lock the front door. This experiment in fear management on my part was concluded. Although I was concerned about something hitting the house, there was no way I was going back outside to check on it. It was dark, raining too hard to see, and there was the danger of flying debris in the wind. The survey of the damage would have to wait until morning.
We were up shortly after daylight the next morning, picking up limbs and debris out of the driveway and the road so we could get a car out of the garage and drive to church. I suspected one good size limb laying in the drive may have been the one that struck the house, but could find no damage. We thanked God our property and lives had been spared from the effects of the storm. When we had cleared enough debris to get out of the garage and on the road, we went back inside to prepare to leave for church later that morning.
What we saw on our drive out of our forested mountain community in north Georgia that morning was eye opening. Debris was everywhere on the roads, and a number of large 50’ tall trees and limbs were down very close to our house. Crews had begun work during the night to clear at least one lane of the roads so that all roads were open, but the damage was remarkable. It took several days of work to finally remove all the debris on the roads and repair damage to electric lines. In total, 35 significant trees were blown down in the community, along with countless smaller ones. This was an impressive amount of damage from a storm cell that did not appear all that impressive on radar before it arrived.
We were so grateful our home had been spared. In church that Sunday morning, I felt I heard the Lord say “You two prayed for your home. I was riding on the storm when it passed over your house.” I thought back to how small I felt when the wind, thunder, lightning and rain were coming fast and furious as I stood in the doorway of my home. Then a mental picture came of Jesus with a big grin, riding on top of that powerful storm. He is so much bigger than the storm. He did not cause the storm, but He protected us through it. My wife often says rather than telling God how big your troubles are, tell your troubles how big your God is.
I also thought back to an October 2016 trip to India when a cyclone (hurricane) in the Bay of Bengal threatened our outdoor evangelism crusade meetings. For three days of meetings there was tropical rain all around, everywhere except at our crusade site. God’s precious people walked to the meetings without getting drenched, and sat on dry ground. Our outdoor sound equipment and lighting stayed dry. The crowds grew each evening as word spread that the one true God was miraculously in control of the weather.
Jesus demonstrated this by calming the storm when he was in the boat with the disciples. After He had rebuked the winds and the waves, and calmed the sea, the disciples asked among themselves “What kind of man is this? [Or who is this man?] Even the winds and the waves obey Him.” Matthew 8:22-27. His authority over the storms is clear. Our prayers in the midst of the storm are heard. However, His control over the natural world where we live goes beyond this. Consider these passages from His word
Jesus walked on water- Matthew 14:25
Jesus turned water into wine- John 2:7-8
Jesus multiplied bread and fish- Matthew 14:20
Jesus extracted a coin from a fish’s mouth- Matthew 17:27
Jesus withered a (non-productive) fig tree- Matthew 21:19
We know from Colossians 1:16-17 that Jesus is the Creator- “All things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Therefore, even in the following Old Testament passages, the reference is to Jesus.
Jesus sets the boundaries of light and dark- Job 26:10
Jesus set the boundaries of the sea- Job 38:11; Psalms 33:7; Proverbs 8:29
Jesus stills (calms) the seas- Psalms 65:7; Psalms 89:9; Psalms 107:29
Jesus controls the wind- Proverbs 30:4; Jeremiah 10:13
Jesus controls the rain- Genesis 7:4; Exodus 9:33; Deuteronomy 11:17; Job 37:6
These are not all the verses in the Word of God pertaining to His authority in the natural world. Our Creator obviously has dominion over His creation. God is a supernatural Being, and by definition is “above” (supra-Greek) the natural realm.
Whether the problem is a thunderstorm over our house, or a storm that has come into our lives, He is in control. He can calm the effects of a marriage falling apart, a child in trouble, an unexpected sickness or death, and the sudden loss of a job. What seems too overwhelming for us is so easy for Him. Someone counted 365 times in the Bible where we are told not to be afraid—one for each day of the year. When we know and call on Him, He rides on top of the storms in our lives.
