Rainbows appear after big storms, during a time when things appear to be at their worst. During the really dark clouds at the end of the storm, suddenly, a rainbow appears. According to Scripture, God’s first sighting of the rainbow was when it was sent to Noah, that the earth will never be flooded like that again, and His word is still true.
In Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “The Rainy Day” we find this famous line which says, “Into each life some rain must fall,” another reminder that everyone will experience difficulty and heartache at some point in their lives.
We made it through all the craziness of COVID-19, starting back in 2019, and continuing with one thing after another, even wars. But once we finally got the majority of us vaccinated, life began to slowly get back to normal.
Though we thought our feet were on somewhat solid ground of a new season, we were ready to begin another chapter in our life story, only to learn that several other versions of COVID hit us. This storm was still going.
But making it through is only the first step. Remember, we must learn from the storm and grow from what the storm taught us which simply means we can’t just forget what we’ve been through. To grow from the storm, we must carry into the next season some very important lessons learned from the storms we’ve experienced.
Storms usually cause us to ask the question, where is God? Somehow, we think that with the presence of God, we would not have to experience storms. That is definitely not true. Let me remind you that Jesus was indeed in the boat along with the disciples, but nevertheless, the very strong storm did come. I truly believed Jesus knew the storm was going to happen and that He used it to help the disciples to teach them this very valuable lesson. Understand that the Bible said, “suddenly there arose a storm.”
Nothing can catch God by surprise. It may catch us by surprise, but never God because He knows the beginning from the ending. He is omniscient. Therefore, this storm that came upon them suddenly caused them to panic. They were fearful, they felt like the ship was going down, and they would all die. But Jesus was in the boat with them all the time.
So the presence of the storm doesn’t mean God has gone or abandoned us. It doesn’t mean God doesn’t care. It means, like Isiah 43:2 says, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”
Even if your boat is taking on water and the fear of sinking into the deep has come upon you — you don’t have to fear you don’t have to fret because you will not sink. You may get rocked and tossed but rest assured you will not become shipwrecked. Even though the winds of adversity are howling loudly, they will not have the last word in your life — just call on Jesus and He will calm the storms when He decides to say “peace be still.” In this Bible story, you learn the presence of storms doesn’t mean the absence of God.
The disciples questioned Jesus’ love! When they woke Jesus, they asked him this question: “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” To which Jesus responded, “Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?” Notice, Jesus was sleeping — think on these things!
“Master, carest thou not that we perish?” So many times, when storms come, we may feel that God doesn’t love us. Always remember He does love us!
Matthew 5:45 says, “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” What we do not understand, especially during the storm, is the purpose. Always, when a storm comes, it causes the ground to soften and allows the roots to penetrate deeper into the ground, making them stronger and more durable to handle future storms that come. Amen!
Lyndia Grant is a speaker/writer living in the D.C. area. Her radio show, “Think on These Things,” airs Fridays at 6 p.m. on 1340 AM (WYCB), a Radio One station. To reach Grant, visit her website, www.lyndiagrant.com, email lyndiagrantshowdc@gmail.com or call 240-602-6295. Follow her on Twitter @LyndiaGrant and on Facebook.
