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Summer Storms
by Jerry Ousley Crash! B-b-b-b-oom! Then the rushing sound of a torrential downpour comes. These are the sounds of summer storms. They can blow up in an instant during a bright, sunny day. Sometimes they bring much needed rain and sometimes they bring disaster. The one thing they have in common is that they end. My son and I had gone to a ball game at Cincinnati one summer. When he was younger we tried at least once a year to go and see the "Reds" play. This particular time we had decided to make a day of it, going early enough to stay a few hours at the zoo, then, after a casual lunch go to the ball park early and get our seats before the crowd got there. It was hot. If I remember correctly when we got to the ballpark the temperature was around 102 degrees! But we "weathered" the heat and finally got to our seats. I don't remember much about the game except that as it went on, the sky in the distance was getting darker and darker. By the time the game ended the storm was almost on top of us. We hurried as fast as we could to get to the car. We had borrowed my Dad's car, a 1991 Geo Metro. It was great on gas but we were soon to discover something else about it. We got to the edge of the parking lot and the rain began. Actually it was more like the city of Cincinnati had decided to pour out an entire water tower over the stadium. And so we ran drenched to the car. We sat there for several minutes hoping that the rain would stop but it didn't. By the time we made the nerve-wracking trip through Cincinnati and got to Lawrenceburg, Indiana we were worn out from fighting traffic, trying to see in the rain and spectacular lightning, and we were ready to stop! We found out that the little car floated. As we drove through the torrential rain we could actually feel the car lift to the top of the water on the road, especially if we were going too fast. The rain did finally end and the lightning stopped except for occasional flashes in the distance. Everything was strangely calm after the storm. It reminded me of the time Jesus calmed the storm. When all with Him in the boat thought that death was surely eminent, He stood, said, "Peace! Be still," and the terrible storm was done (see Mark 4:37-39). It also reminded me of how "storms" come to us in life at the most in-opportune times. We don't need that extra tension and trouble but it comes anyway. As surely as we can't stop the rain and the lightning, we can't stop the "storms of life" either. At best we can only hold on tight and ride them out. But just like in the storm with the disciples, if we know Jesus as our personal Savior, He will do one of two things for us. He will either calm the storm, or calm us. We can get through these things. In fact as a believer, the Bible tells us that all things work for our good (to those called according to His purpose see Romans 8:28). So when the rain falls in life and the wind howls remember our Savior. He will get us through and it will work out for the best one way or another. Jesus is even Master of Summer Storms. Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |