The lessons of Sunday, June 23, speak of storms, whirlwinds, maelstroms, and we’re trying to have a nice summer. Storms, internal and external, have a way of ruining or at least interrupting our plans. Silly, but I remember one of our first family vacations after Jack was born. My parents got a great place on Wild Dunes, toward the end of the Isle of Palms, and it was going to be an amazing time, the family together. The problem was we had a baby. His surroundings were off, so his schedule was off, so we were off. I remember being not only disappointed but, if honest, internally angry. How selfish, yes, ungrateful certainly, but there it is. It was not only different from what I wanted and hoped for, it was different from what I was certain I needed, rest. Psalm 127:3 speaks of a child being a gift from the Lord, amen, but…
The Bible promises rest; Jesus invites us to find it in him (Matthew 11:28). As you’re aware, the Biblical rest promised is more than a pleasant vacation or a time of relaxation. It is something lasting: security, belonging, assurance, activity, purpose, God’s strength, his protection.
Where we often find this, in the beginning, is in the place of its absence. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4 and 5, it is when we feel pressed, persecuted, struck down, weak, wasting away, that we find God doing the work of inward renewal. Where we recognize our need and call to God is often in the midst of danger and discomfort. The cycle of death and resurrection is knit into the fabric of life, and I know this, thank God for this, and fight it simultaneously.
Job 38:1 shares of God responding to Job: “The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind.” When Jesus is with his disciples in the boat, not only do they cry out for him to save them, they ask him if he cares. He does. Honestly, it is often in the storm that God speaks to us, and he speaks a word of life.
– Craig
Job answered the Lord and said: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” – Job 42:1-2