Friday, August 12, 2022
Protecting Storms
“Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. . . . But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary” (Matthew 14:22, 24 NKJV).
Trouble was brewing. Jesus had just fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. Then the Bible tells us that Jesus “perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king” (John 6:15 NKJV). In effect the people were saying, “You’re going to be our king whether you like it or not, because you’re the kind of king we want. Raising the dead? That’s nice. Restoration of sight to the blind? That’s good. A free meal? Now we’re talking!”
Essentially they were using God. So Jesus commanded His disciples to get into a boat, and then He sent them away. Why? Jesus knew this would destroy them. On more than one occasion the disciples had argued about who among them would be the greatest in the kingdom. These guys would have been propelled from rags to riches. They would have gone from being ostracized to being men of great influence. And it would have destroyed them. For their own protection, Jesus wanted to get them out of there as soon as possible.
So off they went, and they hit a storm. That is exactly what the disciples needed, because it was a protecting storm.
Sometimes a storm comes into our lives that is protecting us from something worse. That is difficult for us to wrap our minds around. Is it possible that a hardship could ever be better than a success? Sometimes a hardship can be better than success, because there are things we learn through hardships that we would not have learned otherwise.
The One who stirs up the storm is the hiding place in it. And sometimes the things we dread most in life can be the best things for us. God will allow calamity to show us His power.
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Grief is one of life’s most difficult challenges. Pastor Greg Laurie experienced this truth when his son Christopher passed away suddenly. Discover comfort and healing in times of pain as you read his book Hope for Hurting Hearts. Receive your copy as our gift for your donation of any amount to Harvest Ministries this month.
