An Umbrella

Luke 8:22-25
It has been windy and stormy lately here in Tucson, which doesn't happen a lot. When the rains come here you usually have to dig around to find your raincoats and umbrellas. In the evening the weather reminded me of when Jesus and his disciples were crossing a lake and he was asleep when a mighty storm came up that was filling their boat with water. The disciples in a panic woke Jesus to inform him of the situation. "When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. The storm stopped and all was calm (Luke 8:23 NLT)!" He proceeded to question the disciples about their faith, and then most likely went back to his siesta as if nothing had happened. First, what I see in that story is that I wish I could be more relaxed when the boat of life is being tossed around. To not be concerned and know that everything will be fine even when my world is falling apart all around me takes amazing faith. Yet if you've been a Christian for a while, you probably could make a good list of when life seemed like a hurricane but in the end the Lord carried you through it. Next it's important to know that when the waves are overwhelming us that we can cry out to Jesus for help. Even when our faith is small and we get scared and panicked, the Lord can bring calm and peace to the situation. Lastly, we must remember that if you've given your life to Christ, you are not your own, he who is greater than the world, he who overcame the world, he who the winds and waves obey is living in you. Allow that thought to set you free from worry. When fear and panic set in remember these words from Junior Asparagus of Veggie Tales, "God is bigger than the Boogie Man, he's bigger than Godzilla or the monsters on TV, God is bigger than the Boogie Man, and he's watching out for you and me." Next time the winds and rain whip up realize that your umbrella and Gore-Tex rain gear don't offer near the protection that God does. Rely on him to be your shelter in the storm.
A great song for your devotional time today is Hope Now by Addison Road.