36. YOUR STORM SHELTER.

Heart-rendering scenes of nature’s devastation are hard to forget. Victims caught in the path of hurricanes, floods and earthquakes are tossed around like matchsticks. But those prepared in advance escape destruction. There is no such thing as a storm-free life! The word ‘When (not if) a storm strikes,’ teach us that we all go through times of trouble and heartache. The question is; Are you prepared? You can be, God can protect you in times of Loss, Sickness, Divorce, Unemployment, Loneliness and Depression. You may not be able to predict life’s storms or prevent them from happening, but you can be prepared for them and be protected in them by doing the following things: Locate your Storm shelter. Mid-storm is no time to be caught in confusion: while you are seeking refuge for yourself and your family. You must know in whom and where your security and protection lies. The Bible says in (Proverbs 18:10) “The name of the Lord is a strong and mighty tower, the righteous run to it and are safe” God’s name speaks of His character, His reliability and His Faithfulness. A man or woman without God, is forced to be their own god. What a fearful thought that is.!! But those who love God can understand and say, ‘God is always ready to help in times of trouble. So we wont be afraid! Let the earth tremble and the mountains tumble into the deepest sea. Let the oceans roar and it’s raging waves shake the mountains.” Psalm 46:1-3. An old Irish preacher had his own take on this hymn He’d say, On Christ the solid Rock I stand – “all other rocks are sham-rocks!”!! So trust God He’s the only storm-shelter you will ever need. To be prepared for life’s storms, you must (1) know your storm manual. The Hymnist Kelso Carter wrote “Standing on the promises that cannot fail, When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, By the Living word I shall prevail, Standing on the promises of God’. Emotion-based faith is like a broken crutch: it wont support you in life’s storms. It’s fare-weather Christianity and it doesn’t work. God’s word stands sure; it’s greater than surrounding conditions and will enable you to out last any storm. Colossians (3;16) tells us “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” that means keep a rich deposit of Scripture within you at all times so you can make a withdrawal instantly any time you need it. Withstanding life’s storms depends on your willingness to… hear these words… and put them into practise...so memorise Scripture, It doesn’t matter very much if you don’t remember “Chapter and verse’ What does matter is that you Read, Understand, know and memorize the words, Just take short verses for a start eg ‘In God I put my trust.” or “He is my light and my Salvation.” or “Where shall I go,You alone have the words of eternal life.”(meditate on one verse a week) use it several times a day and in a year you will know and understand fifty two Scripture verses, if you do this God’s Word will fill and sharpen your consciousness and you will know exactly what to do when the storm comes. When his storm came, we read in (Job (23:12) “I have treasured His Word more than my necessary food.”.(2.) Storm-proof yourself through prayer. Many of us treat prayer like the emergency ward at the hospital, we neglect it until we think we need it. Imagine where Daniel would have been if he’d held off praying until he was staring down a lions throat? Not a smart move! Instead in his time of crises Daniel drew on faith built by a lifestyle of daily prayer. You too can make withdrawals from your account – as long as you’ve been faithful with making regular deposits. To be prepared for life’s storms we must (1) Practise self-control! Storms are much harder on the undisciplined and self-indulgent. The illusion that life should be easy, painless and an air-cushioned ride, makes us vulnerable to discouragement, defeat and disillusionment in hard times. The truth is, Tough times don’t last, but tough people do! And tough people practise self-denial and self-control. It’s their spiritual muscle for handling life’s hardships. In Galatians (5:22-23) we read one of the fruit of the Spirit is “Self-Control” God’s Spirit will make us strong enough to control our greatest weakness and that is what ultimately defeats us in the tough times, Paul lived by this principal in 1 Corinthians (9:27) he says “I discipline my body and keep it under control.” Great athletes know, it’s their conditioning not their condition that will gain them the victory. (2) Depend on God, not on people Psalm (118:8) says “It’s better to trust in God than to put confidence in man.” Yes others can help for a time, like a cast helps a broken leg, but once that leg is ready to bear the weight you must discard the cast or your leg wont regain full strength. People can go so far with their help, But only God will go all the way with you. In (2 Timothy 4:16-18 Paul writes ..”No one stood with me, but all forsook me, let it not be held against them but the Lord stood with me and strengthened me. The Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His Heavenly Kingdom. To Him be Glory forever and ever Amen.” In conclusion I’d like to say rely on God’s faithfulness He will deliver you out of the storms in your life, He has done it for me and my family on several occasions when all appeared lost He came up with the most wonderful unexpected and complete answers and solutions to my problems. Thank you for reading my thoughts on”Preparing for Life’s Storms.” We can always trust our Faithful God to be with us through any and every storm we may encounter in life. He is our Father and only wants the best for us. His promises are our guarantee while we do our part. Phaline. --------------------------