The Storms of Life

In talking to many of our members, I find one thing in common. Many are going through or have gone through storms in the life. Actually, the storms are a part of life.

Often, when we are in a storm, perhaps one like the Storm of the Century, we may feel the storm is our fault. We are often told that if we did what God wanted us to do, we would not be in the storm in the first place. Lets look at something for a few moments regarding a real storm some found themselves in:

Matthew 14
22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.
23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

Please notice:

1: According to verse 22, these men were exactly where the Lord wanted them to be. They were in the Will of God.

2: Not everything will go OUR way. (verse 24,) We can be sure it was not their wish to have a major storm come up)

3: We may not recognize God when HE comes to rescue us. (verse 26...they did not recognize Jesus but in fact, these men that were close to Him, even thought it was a spirit...a demon thus they were afraid even more.

4: We are not to be afraid. Jesus said be not afraid. Compare this with 2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. When JESUS says peace...even the seas obey Him.

5: We need to excise our faith. (vs 28) Peter is often criticize for taking his eyes of Jesus and sinking into the sea, but lets remember, Peter was the only one that even had faith enough, or the desire to TRY. Peter exercised faith. Do we my friend? Oh I am not talking about showmanship such as trying to walk on water, but of trusting God to meet ALL our needs. There are several aspects to exerting our faith:
a: doubt. These men doubted who it was walking toward them on the water.
b: Recognizing. They tried the sprits (1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Not only are we allowed to ask if what we hear is from God, we are told to do it. My friend, I ask you to compare what we say with the Bible. Do not accept it just because I said it.
c: Cry out to God. (vs. 28) We are told that if we seek the Truth, if we ask God to reveal the truth and are willing to accept it when He shows it to us, we WILL find it.
d: Launch out in faith. Peter did walk on water. For us, we often see people, ourselves included that trust Christ for salvation and we do have changed lives, we do good for while. we are "walking on water" but then, far too often, we start to sink...we fall and we are fearful we will "drown" in the sea of despair.
e: Rescue. Peter cried out once more (vs. 30..Lord save me. Note this was not asking for salvation from sin, but salvation from the situation Peter was in at that time...sinking in the sea of despair.
f: Deliverance (vs. 320 JESUS reached out to him and pulled Peter out of the sea of despair. We have no indication how close Jesus was to Peter. It could have been a foot, but it could have been a half mile..My friend....JESUS can reach all the way to where YOU are. He is only a prayer away.

EFFECTIVE PRAYER FOR HURTING PEOPLE
http://www.shatterdmen.com/Effective.htm

g: Worship. Verse 33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God. I have found often, that just as we are thankful to humans who help us, we will be to God also. In fact, HE does so much for us, that worship should be an automatic response to His deliverance of us from the sea of despair.

My friend, do you Worship Him? If you do something special for someone, often at great expense to yourself, do you not appreciate gratefulness? The gift God has given us, is at great expense my friend, it cost Him HIS SON.

IT IS FINISHED
http://www.shatterdmen.com/IT%20IS%20FINISHED.htm

If you do not know for sure, that You have eternal life, Please come to HIM...TODAY:

http://www.shatterdmen.com/first_step.htm

This message is from the ministry of Shattered Men