He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” Revelation 21:4 NLT
Most Christians and even many non-believers are familiar with and take some comfort with this verse. But knowing and truly standing on this precious promise in the face of difficulty is sometimes a different thing. The reality that one day there will be no more sickness no pain, no sorrow or tears can feel far away. But on that morning when we walk that distant shore with Jesus, it will be worth it all! I have discovered that our residents at the nursing home understand this better than most. One dear lady wiped the tears from her eyes after we sang it yesterday. Close your eyes and try to imagine that you can hear her voice in the background and allow the Lord to touch your own heart today!
Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.2 Corinthians 12:10NKJV
What in the world can the writer of today’s verse mean when he says he takes pleasure in sickness, insults and poverty? Then he sums all these issues up with the final word distresses. Who in their right mind, likes any of these things? The word distresses, that Paul says that he takes pleasure in, means being put into a tight place; like being backed into a corner. Have you felt that the circumstances, the people or even just your own past decisions have backed you into a blind alley? Today’s wonderful news that Paul shares with us is that even at those seemingly hopeless moments when we are surrounded on every side by problems, God is always and entirely in control. He gives us something even greater than deliverance from them: He gives us grace in them, and even in the middle of our distresses, He offers us His strength!
And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
Mark 4:37-38 ESV
It is interesting that in generations past no one thought much about what to call a particular storm. But in 1953, the National Hurricane Center figured out that naming a storm got people’s attention. Since the point of their forecasting was to help folks prepare, they decided that naming was a pretty important thing! The same is true for our spiritual storms. One thing I have learned as I have gotten older is that we rarely face the same storm twice. Circumstances I faced as a twenty-five-year-old with toddlers running around our apartment were certainly different from waiting up late nights waiting for them to come home when they were teenagers. Today our children have children of their own who are teenagers and we lay awake some nights praying for them. Someone once said, “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” But the real truth of the matter is that our storms really do change both in kind as well as ferocity and the only thing that remains the same is Jesus. Even though it may seem that He is asleep while we are going through life threatening circumstances, the truth is that He knows what we are going through and He is ready to come and help when we cry out to Him. No matter what our storm is named today, we are never forgotten, or abandoned. Jesus gave His life on the cross as the sky darkened and the earth shook beneath His feet. But as the blood flowed down the timbers, from the nails that pierced His hands and feet, Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” The cross has finished everything we need to deliver us from our storm, to still our seas and to calm the trouble around us. No matter what our storm’s name we can know that He loves us, He cares about our problems He is showing us new ways to trust Him, no matter what name of the hurricane that lies ahead!
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