You'll Get There...

What happens when the storm hits?  You are out in the middle of uncharted waters, winds blazing, and rain is pelting your skin.  All around you look and see black clouds surrounding you... and you realize that you are in trouble and only one person is going to get you through.  Jesus is the only one who spoke to the storm and it listened to Him.  Are you in a life storm?  Jesus is still calming storms daily... He will get you through, He will get you to the other side!  

As I was preaching this passage in Luke 8:22 more than a week before Hurricane Isaac hit Haiti, my exhortation was... "Remember that Jesus invited you into the boat!  He will get you through!"  Storms are not as scary when the sun is shining.  Maybe you remember a time when the storm was raging in your life and you go back to those feelings or memories.  As I looked into the eyes of a couple hundred kids from Titanyen, I realized many of them were in the middle of a storm and the sun was still shining.  Their very lives felt like a constant terrifying storm.  I encouraged my friends that night that Jesus has promised to walk through the storms of life with us.  Sometimes they are physical storms and sometimes they are emotional or spiritual storms.  

At the end of my talk, I challenged my friends to fall on their knees to surrender to the only one that ever calmed the storms... promising that the God we love and serve still calms storms today!  With tears in my eyes, looking around the room I noticed that everyone was on their knees crying out to God to calm their own personal life storm.  I closed the prayer by saying that Jesus who has called you His child, has promised a relationship where He will walk with you, most often, through the storms of life, getting you safely through to the other side.

Just days later we began preparing for hurricane Isaac, knowing that the storm was coming our way. Isaac turned out to be more of a tropical storm where we are located in Haiti, I think mostly because so many of you that were praying that the storm would change course... and it did!  Praise Jesus!  I went out at the end of the storm on Saturday and took some video and some of these shots as well.  I will say, it was the strongest storm I have ever been through.  At times I wondered if our roof had blown off.  God definitely proved His power and protection to us!  Praise be to God that all 77 of us at Grace Village made it through the storm, a few of us got a little wet, but we made it through.  On Saturday we were bringing some rice and beans around to all the children in their rooms when we got word that one of our staff, Marc, our school administrator had passed away.  He was in a storm in his life that he could not see through.  I met with Marc's family this week to pray over them and to ask God's Blessing over them.  This was a hard thing to do as Marc left behind a wife and three beautiful young children.

As you see in the picture above, Lovena and Sabrina found a safe little haven under their bed while the storm huffed outside.  They seemed quite snug and happy when I showed up drenched with my camera.

Often we are gripped by fear and we stop thinking logically when we forget God's Word to us... Jesus said, "Let's cross over to the other side of the lake"(Luke 8:22).  And when Jesus says, "We're going to the other side," it means you're going to the other side!  It might not mean smooth sailing or a guarantee of an easy trip.  But it does mean, You'll Get THERE!

Where do we go when the storms of life blow in?  Where do we hide?  What fears or anxieties can we lay down as we move forward with Jesus into the future that He has planned?