09 Apr Whirlwind of Change – Jesus Calms the Storm

The last few weeks have been, as you are aware, a whirlwind of change. Like many others, we are doing our best to adjust with all that has happened, and we also note with much gratitude the hand of the Lord at work through different circumstances.

Just over one month ago, as a church we held a week of listening prayer, where we sat in silence most of that time. During that week, the Lord spoke to us, but we didn’t realise the implications of what it was He was telling us.

Three major themes emerged in our thoughts during that week, which can be summarised like this:

• God is doing something BIG.
• Expect unexpected things to happen.
• Keep Listening.

At the time we believed these things to be true in a general sense, but we had no idea how quickly or deeply these would be shown to be happening. The changes that have taken place in our lives, our city, nation and the entire world were completely unforeseeable, unless you are the Lord of course. And so our lives have been upended, as have those of many people everywhere, but we are not without joy because we have the assurance of the Lord’s hand at work in the circumstances. Our faith is in him.

One of the women in our church shared a word she received from the Lord concerning the provision of Elijah with the birds. In that story, Elijah was in isolation, in danger fo his life, but provided for by God. And so that word, from before all the recent happenings, is a reminder of the provision of our Lord to those who love Him, as do you and as we do too.

As God’s people we always depend on Him. This isn’t a new place to be, but for many believers they are currently finding themselves living in a deeper reality of of that truth. So these are days when our faith is growing, and that isn’t always comfortable for everyone. A story that resonates here is the disciples in the boat with Jesus during the storm. (Mark 4:35-41) He did of course calm the seas, but he could have prevented the storm, or could have warned them in advance of the storm. But if he had done that, he would have robbed the disciples of the opportunity to grow in their trust of Him.

And so we, and the entire world, are going through a storm. And through our trust in Christ, we are able to find that the angst in our hearts is calm, because Jesus himself is calm. And we also note that in our week of listening prayer mentioned above, we were actually warned that such a storm was coming. So God has prepared us for difficulty and we know that His purposes through it all are good.

During this time, we and many others are growing not only in faith, but in our love for Christ, and each other. As the world has been shaken, and continues to be shaken, the grip of idols is being shaken loose. There is only one whose foundation is unshakeable, and that is Christ and His unshakeable kingdom. (Hebrews 12)

So let us hold onto Him. Let us trust Him, and let us pursue prayer to maximum effect. Pray for the salvation of the lost around you, that through these difficult days they will see Christ. And pray for the Church, that in these days it will be purified as the Lord desires.

Finally I would like to add. Many churches have gone online by necessity, and Peace has also done this. The details of our weekly church life have now been added to this site. Should you wish to join us, you are most welcome.