Fire, Wind, Rain, and Earthquake

A friend’s post on Facebook turned a joke at work yesterday into a potentially frightening reality. We were laughing about the events of the past week. Last week there fires throughout the country. This weekend storm warnings have been out for strong winds and possible flooding. “What’s next,” one of us asked.

“Earthquakes,” one of the ladies said.

“God forbid,” I immediately responded. I still remembered the “little” one of 1984 shortly after I moved to Haifa and was working at Rambam Hospital as a nurse. I was on a fourth or fifth floor ward. Several of us were standing at the nurse’s station discussing work, when suddenly I felt like I was shaking and the entire floor tilted first to the left, then to the right. The whole building seemed to be like a string waving in the wind, and then gradually settled. I was royally freaked—I’d never experienced an earthquake before. I don’t want to imagine what a really bad one feels like. The news stories are enough, thankyou.

Hence, my gut reaction, “God forbid.”

Weather is one of the few things that removes from us the mask of control. If I’m sick, I can see a doctor and pursue whatever cures my budget will allow. I can pretend to be in control as I seelook for alternative treatments. But fire? Anyone who works with fire will warn it is a force to be respected and handled with care, and you hope you can get there in time to put it out.  Otherwise…

Have you ever tried to control a flood? I remember seeing a video clip of a car driving into a flood area. I guess the driver hadn’t been listening to the news. It was quite a sight to watch that car do a u-turn and try to out distance the flood waters.

What about the wind? The last person I heard of who controlled the wind was a man called Jesus. He was sleeping in a boat as a storm whipped around. His students were probably more freaked than I was during that earthquake. The earthquake stopped. But the storm showed no signs of letting up.

We all know the story (believing it is another thing, but we all know it). The disciples wake Jesus up and with a few words, “Peace Be Still,” the storm instantly quiets and the wind ceases.

The disciples murmur amongst themselves. “Who is this that even the winds and sea obey Him?” ([biblegateway passage=”Mark 4:41″])

We laugh at their ignorance. Who is this indeed? For believers in Jesus the answer should be clear. This is God. But perhaps we should pause our laughter. You see, weather reminds us that we are not in control. If we are not, then who is?

For the believer, it would seem obvious, God is. But for those who don’t believe, the answer can be as simple as “mother nature,” or as complex as a discussion on winds and weather patterns, which no one can control… but maybe someday…

Do I really BELIEVE Jesus calmed the waves? Sometimes I struggle believing He will calm the waves in me, let alone outside of me.

Perhaps the recent events are not coincidental at all. Perhaps God is trying to get out attention. Perhaps He is trying to awaken us from our stupor.

I just finished reading a book by Brenda Poulos called “The Choice: Will’s Last Testament.” It was a stark reminder to me of how many times we turn down the opportunity of believing.

I say we, because many of us Christians don’t realize how much our choices still matter and have eternal consequences in how God will reward us. I know I don’t think about that much—and I think this is a loss for me—for us.

I say we, because some of you, my friends and loved ones, do not believe in Salvation through Jesus, nor do you believe in heaven or hell, or the problem of sin. Your belief choices grieve me, because I don’t want you to spend eternity apart from God. I can’t imagine a world in which I will no longer be able to relate to you.

I say we, because I too struggle, as do many of you, in allowing what I believe to truly touch every aspect of my life—what you see versus what only God sees.

We look at the events of nature, and what is happening in the world, and naturally we respond with concern and wonder, what’s next.

If the Bible is true, and I am certain it is, then what is next is that sooner or later, Jesus will return. This time He will not come as the meek Savior, born in a manger, willing to die for all humankind. This time He will come with a sword, to bring judgement on this world and all that is out of alignment with His will.

But every day that He does not return is an opportunity for all of us to make choices of eternal consequence. Jeremiah, known as the weeping prophet, said it best:

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
                                        [biblegateway passage=”Lamentations 3:22–23″]

Jesus reminds us in [biblegateway passage=”Matthew 5:45″], “For he [your Father in heaven] makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

And so as I consider the events of the past few days, I am reminded of God’s great love for each and every one of us. I’ll be quite truthful, as far as what is happening around us—I have no idea what will happen next. What gives me comfort and great hope is this—I don’t need to be in control, rather I need to trust and rest in the one who is in control. I realize anew, if He could create the universe and calm a storm, He can indeed calm the storm in me. I am thankful that each day is filled with new mercies, and that “He who began a good work in you” will indeed bring it to completion—in me and in you ([biblegateway passage=”Phil 1:6″]).