He is Our Storm Chaser

Most of my posts come from my own personal life experiences with the sincere hope that what I share will encourage and even open your eyes to our great Storm Chaser. I learned some very difficult lessons the hard way so my goal is to pass along the wisdom from those lessons to give you shortcuts to your prayers being answered and your faith increased.

It's our human nature to have the mindset: "I've got to figure this out on my own!" Many times, seeking God for the answer is the last thing we do to escape our storms. "I've tried everything else. I might as well, as a last resort ask God for help! Instead of asking "God, can't you see how great my storms are", we should be saying "Storms, can't you see how big my God is?"

The disciples passed their lessons learned onto us. We can learn a lot from their mistakes if we would not go the way of their lack of faith. They knew Jesus was on land and they discounted that He was the authentic, unparalleled STORM CHASER and PEACE MAKER. They toiled and feared, but Christ was praying on the shore for them. He saw the storm come up. HE SAW. He knew. And He sees and knows the storms we're going through. They are no surprise to Him. In fact, they are part of His plan to build our faith and trust in Him more. He is hearing our prayers in the midst of OUR storms and He will carry us safely to the other side.

We can know this: There is no difficulty in life that is stronger than Jesus. We can face our difficult times with courage because He promised to ALWAYS be with us! I love knowing that His peace is ours in the midst of our storms....and how reassuring to know that right behind this storm is a rainbow of blessing! He promised it, and I've come to count on it! Since we know our circumstances are no surprise to Him, let’s surprise Him with our trust in Him – in all circumstances and in all seasons.

The calm and quiet nature of Christ is what calms the storms in our life and in others. By sharing the presence of Christ within us, we introduce the nature of Christ. He is our Storm Chaser. He pursues us to let us know that we can trust Him. He calms our storms when we ask Him.

Dear Lord, we come to you and ask you to increase our faith. We acknowledge that one of the best ways to grow in faith is to experience storms in our life. For only in those times, can we exercise and experience trust, so that we may receive true peace and increase our confidence in You. By growing in our trust, we receive the calm and quiet nature of Your presence. May people be attracted to my soul that expresses calm in any and every situation. I invite you into my boat and ask you to take control. Amen.

At Least He Got Out of the Boat!

I was inspired by my "anchor" blog yesterday enough to give me "meat" for my blog today. Here comes Jesus walking on the water. He calls Peter to come to Him, so in a bold, audacious step of faith, Peter got out of the boat and started walking on water. He didn't hesitate. He took a leap, rather a walk, of faith. But when he took his eyes off of Jesus, he started sinking. Jesus saved the day for him and picked him up. (Matthew 14:22-33). Way to go, Peter! Way to save, Jesus!

I’ve heard many messages and sermons on Peter’s lack of faith. But, I started thinking, at least he had the faith to get out of the boat. After all, the other disciples just sat there in their fear. We shouldn’t criticize Peter for sinking. If only he would have kept his eyes on Jesus – the story would be one of great faith! Our story would be one of great faith, too, if we would keep OUR eyes on Jesus and not on our circumstances.

I am sure the boat squatters thought Peter was un poco loco for what he did. They were huddled, yearning to be free, and not trusting in Jesus like Peter did. I'm not saying those men didn’t have faith. Just saying they didn’t have enough faith to step out of the boat. Just the same, we cannot say anything to Peter because too often we are not getting out of the boat either! No matter the storm or situation we are faced with, it's up to us to get out of the boat and trust Jesus!

You know the deal -- when we stretch our faith, and go for it: "Yes, we're buying a house" or "Yes, we're going to start our family" or "Yes, we are going to adopt" or "Yes, I'm accepting the job offer even though the pay is less. It's what I love to do" or "Yes, I will run a marathon" or "Yes, I will start a Bible Study in my home" or "Yes, I'm quitting smoking" or "Yes, we're moving!" It's all about TRUSTING God to hold us up, when we stretch our faith to "walk on water"!

It's that first step that holds so many of us back. But, it's time for us to get out of our comfort zone. Sometimes God shakes things up around us to make us so uncomfortable that we will strive to move from where we are, to the next level of our destiny. And, those adversities we are facing? God could be allowing them to push us out of the boat and into the deep, so He can bless us with a new level of faith, maturity and blessings! It's time to live with "no regrets" and for us to learn to let go of our fears and insecurities, and to reach out for life at its fullest. Even if we fall, as Peter did, there will always be SOMEONE to reach out and help us get our balance again! And, by the way, our Lifeguard DOES walk on water -- so no need to worry or fret!