Will God Stop the Storm from hitting you? No…but

Probing Proverbs 10:25  When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation.

In 1999 at 5:30am, Zachariah woke me saying there was water in his room. I smelled septic. I got out of bed and walked out to our kitchen – our septic tank was under our kitchen. I turned on the light and saw one of our mousetraps floating by. The water was brown so I did not step in. I went into the living room and saw water pouring into our garage. At that moment water began coming in under the front door. I woke my family up and yelled to my sleeping neighbor who is a brother from CCF. The water came in 2 inches every ten minutes. I claimed the water out of there “in Jesus name!” It kept coming! 

I asked God to blow from His nostril and divide the water…that would keep my house dry, but swamp my neighbors! I hung my head and said “Why?” Normal emotions…which quickly moved to prayer for wisdom as I became conscious again of Who my God is. So I began to plan our escape in case this was going to swallow the house. It stopped rising when the water got above our knees in the house. Our fridge and freezer were floating, the kitchen was lower, so the water was deeper. Even the boys’ waterbeds were floating? My car was out on the street, which was deeper, and it came up to the hood. Our community – “Riverside” had become “In The River!” Minutes later I was with my neighbor looking to help any that needed it. As we walked back to our flooded homes, we stopped and prayed a prayer of thanksgiving…not for the flood, but that as we went through this storm in our life…like everyone else does on the planet…we did not have to travel that path alone!

This Proverb brings out two Truths that we should consider; Reality and Foundations.

First, consider the first phrase of this Proverb: “When the storms of life come.” There is no greater reality than this, yet most live in denial of it. “Life” WILL have storms; it is not a matter of “if” but “when!” Many hope that “luck” will last and become incredulous when the storm comes. Some try to stay so busy to enable themselves to outrun the storm, only to fall hard when the storm overtakes them. Sadly, even those that claim a relationship with God, due to the overwhelming unbiblical teaching in the world today by wolves in sheep’s clothing, think because they are a child of God, they live in a bubble and that will keep them from the storm. When that storm hits, they have a crisis of faith and may even forsake the One that redeemed them. The reality is “Storms happen!” Not just to some but also to everyone: rich, poor, famous, unknown, Atheist and Christian. The question is not, “do you want to go through a storm?” because reality makes that question moot! We all will, no matter how badly we do not want to. So, the real question is, “when you go through that storm, do you want to go through it alone or with God there beside you?” This leads us to the second Truth of this Proverb: What is your foundation? This Proverb points to only two:

“the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation.”

One foundation is built without God; the other is built on Him! Jesus spoke of this:

Luke 6:46–49 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?  “Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like:  he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. “But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

The storms of life will hit hard and if our foundation is not built on something stronger than this temporal life, disaster will be the end. The word “whirled” describes well the experience of that destruction. Here are the meanings of this word:

·      to spin, turn, or revolve or cause to spin, or revolve

·      to turn around or away rapidly

·      to have a spinning sensation, as from dizziness

When the storm continues it’s attack on our foundation, when built on ourselves or a lie, we become disorientated and sense ourselves loosing control. The best meaning I read was “confused movement.” As that foundation crumbles there is movement, but we do not know to where. In that state of confusion we become very vulnerable to any attack of the enemy…and he will take advantage of that!

However, when our foundation is God and God alone…the storm still comes, it is still painful and even frightening. Yet, because we know the One that controls the storm and that He is our foundation…an eternal foundation during a temporal storm, we do not become disoriented! Why? It’s true we do not know where we are going through the storm, but we know the One that does know, which is why we can be calm and go through the storm, because we know that God…and God alone, is the One guiding us through the storm! When the storm dissipates, there will be an eternal lesson that builds our faith in the One that took us through the storm!

Storms are no fun, but they will come! Make sure that when they do, your foundation is built on the God “over” the storm, not the god “of” the storm!

Consider the History of one of my favorite Hymns: “It is well with my soul!”

Horatio Spafford (1828-1888) was a wealthy Chicago lawyer with a thriving legal practice, a beautiful home, a wife, four daughters and a son. He was also a devout Christian and faithful student of the Scriptures. His circle of friends included Dwight L. Moody, Ira Sankey and various other well-known Christians of the day.

At the very height of his financial and professional success, Horatio and his wife Anna suffered the tragic loss of their young son. Shortly thereafter on October 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed almost every real estate investment that Spafford had.

In 1873, Spafford scheduled a boat trip to Europe in order to give his wife and daughters a much needed vacation and time to recover from the tragedy. He also went to join Moody and Sankey on an evangelistic campaign in England. Spafford sent his wife and daughters ahead of him while he remained in Chicago to take care of some unexpected last minute business. At sea his family’s ship collided with another ship. The cable he received from his wife stated: "Saved alone. What shall I do..." As soon as he received Anna's telegram, Horatio left Chicago without delay to bring his wife home. Sailing across the Atlantic Ocean the captain of the ship called Horatio to the bridge. He informed Horatio that "A careful reckoning has been made and I believe we are now passing the place where the Ville du Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep." That night, alone in his cabin Horatio G. Spafford penned these words:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.

…It is worth looking up this Hymn and reading the rest of it! Storms will come, but the wellness of you soul can have this same foundation.