Stormriders

It's been said that sometimes all life seems to be is a series of storms and shipwrecks. They were referring to Paul's experience on his journey to Rome, where his ship encountered a fierce, days-long storm, and eventual shipwreck. Life can seem like that for all of us at one time or another. It's what we hear and what we believe in the storm that will make all the difference in how we get through...or even if we get through. Susie Larson writes that our storms reveal the lies we believe and the truth we need. It's our part to decide who and what we'll believe. In a sense, following Christ will make "Stormriders" out of all of us. Will we ride them in faith and trust, or in captivity to the lies we believe? In the midst of the fierce and destructive winds and waves that Paul's ship was facing, an angel of the Lord appeared to Paul and told him that though the ship would eventually be lost, Paul, and all aboard would be saved if they didn't try to abandon the ship. Larson writes, "We must bend an ear toward heaven, rather than listen to what hell has to say." Our dilemma as believers is that heaven speaks softly and less often than hell. Hell screams, threatens, and its voice is constant. Who do we bend our ears to as both speak to us in the storm? The enemy will be relentless. He will be loud, and his lies will attack us at our most vulnerable place. In our fears. We must decide that we will listen for and to the whispers of heaven over the shouts of hell. The wonderful mystery is that if we make the heart choice to do so, it will be His whispers that speak loudest to our hearts and minds. As the ship began to sink, the crew and soldiers on board made ready to leave the ship. That always seems the best choice to our flesh. Paul, in the power of his faith in Christ and His promise, convinced them to stay aboard. As a result, every one of the more than 200 souls on board were saved. Storms are everywhere these days. The need for experienced Stormriders is desperate. May you and I be found among them. May we be the ones who hear His promises and tell all those around us, as Paul did, that we believe that "it will happen just as He told us." The sailors and soldiers on board were depending on their ship to keep them alive. Paul depended upon His God. Storms are inevitable. We will either ride them or be drowned by them. It will all depend upon who we listen to. Will it be the liar, or the Voice of Truth? Blessings, Pastor O