“Tree! Crash! Boom! Bang!” Ezra fairly shrieked, little hands motioning above his head. We were playing on the front porch together when the last two aged hardwoods came down. We waited for spring to see how they would fill out before deciding to take them down. Once they were on the ground and the rotted areas in the trunks visible, we were glad we did. I prayed they would fall of their own accord before any construction commenced and with the high winds lately, I would not have been surprised if they had. We agonized over the decision but now we are grateful to have it done.
Valentina had taken her kids outside when the chainsawing began across the road. Ezra met me as I walked out the front door with his rendition of the collapse of the first hulking tree. We watched the second fall together. First, I felt the thud deep in my chest. The sound was slightly delayed and simultaneous with the mushrooming cloud of pollen. My mind went immediately back to the morning of Hurricane Helene. Massive trees that once blanketed the acreage across from our home fell like dominoes in a matter of minutes. Half an hour later, the sun shone as though nothing had happened.
This year’s unpredictable temperatures coupled with a springtime drought reminds me that God alone controls the elements. The Lord challenged Job’s knowledge though He had defended Job to Satan as the finest man in all the earth, blameless- a man of complete integrity who fears God and stays away from evil. (Job 1:8) I like to think of it this way. God often chooses to keep us guessing for our own good for He knows that when we think we know too much, we may be tempted to think more highly than we ought of ourselves or another of His image bearers.
“Have you visited the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of hail?
Who created a channel for the torrents of rain?
Who laid out the path for the lightning?
Who makes the rain fall on barren land, in a desert where no one lives?
Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground and make the tender grass spring up?
Does the rain have a father?
Who gives birth to the dew?
Who is the mother of the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?
For the water turns to ice as hard as rock, and the surface of the water freezes.
Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain?
Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct?”
Job 38:22, 25-30, 34-35 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/job.38.22-35.NLT
“Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?”
Matthew 6:27 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/mat.6.27.KJV
Jesus called His first disciples to follow Him. This meant they would be physically present with Him as He taught and healed. They were eyewitnesses to His miracles and their testimonies flesh out for us the God we serve. I am thankful for the transparency of their responses to the divinity of Jesus. Whether they were terrified, amazed, jealous, skeptical, or even argumentative, we see it in scripture. John wrote that only after Jesus’s resurrection did some things become clear.
“One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.”
So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep.
And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger.”
Luke 8:22-23 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/luk.8.22-23.ESV
“And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.
But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion.
And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!”
And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”
And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?””
Mark 4:37-41 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/mrk.4.37-41.ESV
Jesus was sleeping. When our children visit, our four grandchildren get to have a Lolly sleepover. The youngest, Ezra is usually the last to sleep and the first to wake. He has yet to master whispering and his chattering typically wakes the others. I have tried scooping him up quickly and snuggling him in next to me while whispering in his little ear. “Thomas is sleeping. Timothy is sleeping. Amelia is sleeping.” He adds, “Mommy seep-in’. Daddy seep-in’. Ca-line seep-in’. Poppy seep-in’. Jake seep-in’.” “Yes,” I say. “And Lolly was sleeping too.” Once in awhile, he will settle in beside me, still for long enough to make me think he has fallen back asleep. More often, though, he kicks off the covers and says, “Go down-tairs, Lolly.” Before my feet can find my slippers, four sets of feet stampede the length of the room over the garage to head down for breakfast.
We know at least four of Jesus’s disciples grew up on the water. Andrew, Peter, James, and John were fishermen when Jesus called them. I don’t know the size of their boat but I’m willing to bet there wasn’t a ton of wiggle room for thirteen men, especially after Jesus stretched Himself out full length to sleep. I’ve been on a ski boat, a bass boat and a pontoon as a child with my family plus a couple of cousins and we tiptoed around each other. My husband chartered a deep sea fishing excursion when our kids were preteens and I remember the space on the two bench seats and at the rail being tight with only the five of us, our captain and his first mate with all the fishing gear. The squall that unnerved four seasoned fishermen with its wind and waves swamping the boat apparently made ideal sleeping conditions for the Lord of lords. The disciples wakened Jesus with their pleas for help. “Don’t you care that we are perishing?”
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.3.16.NIV
“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.”
Romans 5:8, 10 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.5.8-10.NLT
Yes! Jesus cared so much that He gave His life as a ransom for many. “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) Even the winds and the waves obeyed. When the winds change and things start falling apart around you, when the earth quakes and your cozy little world starts slipping away, you have a choice to make. Hear Him say, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” True and lasting peace can only be found in Jesus. Trust Him and move forward in faith.
“No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering.
You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven.
You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things.
You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect.
You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.
Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking.
For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven!
When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise:
“Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.”
This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain.
Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.”
Hebrews 12:22-28 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/heb.12.22-28.NLT
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.
O Lord, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works.”
Isaiah 26:3-4, 12 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/isa.26.3-12.ESV
“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!
A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High.
God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed.
From the very break of day, God will protect it.
The nations are in chaos, and their kingdoms crumble!
God’s voice thunders, and the earth melts!
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.
Come, see the glorious works of the Lord: See how he brings destruction upon the world.
He causes wars to end throughout the earth.
He breaks the bow and snaps the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.”
Psalms 46:1-11 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.46.1-11.NLT
Sometimes He Calms The Storm ~Scott Krippayne https://youtu.be/ehS56mYmfX8?si=F6ubBdDNd-oEDSLJ
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