Mark 4:37 – And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
____________________
Yesterday I began to share with you concerning the four different kinds of storms we can face in life. It is keenly important for us to know the source of the storms we encounter so we can operate accurately and productively in those storms. Today I want to address the first kind of storm we see in the Scriptures. It was the storm that caused the flood of Noah. This is the kind of storm into which the Lord sends you. Please understand that I am not just talking about the kind of storm we see in nature, but about any and all the storms of life (battles of every kind). Think for a moment about the storm that brought about the flood of Noah.
Before this storm came, the Lord had well-informed Noah of what was coming, what he needed to do to prepare for the storm, and what his role of ministry would be prior to the coming of the storm. There are other examples of this. When a storm of this kind is on the horizon, seen or unseen, before you, the Lord will always see to it that you have the capacity to be fully prepared for its coming. Noah was fully prepared. Likewise, David was prepared, though he did not know the storm (battle) he would face with Goliath was even coming. David writes that the Lord had taught his hands to war. David spoke of facing the bear and the lion, and likened Goliath to one of them.
If the Lord warns you of an impending storm, He does so to give you the opportunity to be fully prepared to engage that storm victoriously, and come out of it blessed. Even the issue of what the world faces as the Corona virus which has presented itself to most people as a “shelter-in-place” storm should not have taken the church by surprise. A wonderful man of God, David Wilkerson, prophesied in 1986 of a plague coming that would slam New York in a horrible way. Did the church pay attention to that prophecy? We must remember that warnings from God don’t always come just before something happens. God’s warning for preparation to Noah came 120-years before the storm started.
If we are caught unprepared in a storm about which the Lord has warned us, and into which we must step, we must accept the personal responsibility for what we must face. The Lord will forgive our being ill-prepared, and He will even help us when we repent and turn to Him in the storm. But would things not have been much better if we had our ark built and supplied? Don’t cast aside the Lord’s warnings. Remain faithful, for He is faithful.
Manna for Today – Mark 4:35-41; Romans 8:1-17; 2 Timothy 2:15; Genesis 6, 7, & 8
My Second Miler by Dr. Beechard Moorefield 