One day the sun rises, the
birds sing, the air is sweet
And we breathe a sigh of
relief.
Another day the sun rises,
the crows caw,
And we wonder what will go
wrong.
Is it the change of days
that makes things appear good or bad?
Or is it a change in perspective
that brings about this perception?
The real question should be,
Is God the Master of the day
in which the birds sing
And the day in which the crows caw?
Without delay, the resounding answer is, “Yes!”
But, do we live our lives as
if we believe that answer?
Do we allow our fears of
what may come or what is happening determine our emotions?
Do we allow our fears of
what may come determine how we will step into our situations?
Remember, fear is not from God. God casts out all fear.
John said this in 1 John
4:18 when he said, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear,
because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in
love.”
Is it not the same God who creates both days, one when the birds sing sweetly
and the other when crows caw?
Is not the cawing of crows just another bird’s song, maybe not as beautiful
to some ears, maybe yours, but still a bird’s song?
Then what causes us to fear and our emotions to change?
It is not God because God made both these days, and these birds and
their songs.
The fear comes because of our skewed perceptions. One bird’s song is beautiful
and the other is not. Thus, a legend passed down leads us to hesitate in our
day, fearing and wondering what bad may befall us.
Fear comes because our
perception, our focus, does not remain on the Master, but instead on the
matter.
If our eyes, inner and outer, remain on the Master, we will see the day
as one He made and then rejoice and be glad in it knowing He is the Maker of it
with His creative love. Since He is the Maker, He is the ruler and we have
nothing about which to be afraid in it.
It does not matter what
occurs during our day, the Master is in charge of the day.
Whether a light breeze whisks by or a storm rages, God is the Master of
the day. He is in control of it and He loves us.
God
is Master of the matter, created things. The matter is not master of God.
Does that mean He will make
the storm cease raging?
Sometimes. And that is a
great testimony of God’s power.
Still, other times the storm does not cease, and the winds keep raging.
Does that mean He is not
merciful or is not strong enough to calm the storm?
Never. God is still the
Master of the storm. This time, He wants to walk with us through the storm.
There is a reason He doesn’t
calm the storm as well as why He does.
Both times can bring us closer to God and grow us in our walk with Him.
Because He loves us.
How we confront the day
determines our growth from it.
The day doesn’t determine our growth, but instead our faith in God does.
One day, Jesus put the disciples in a boat and told
them to go ahead of Him to the other side. He went to pray. While the boat was
a long way from the shore, the storms raged on the sea. Shortly before dawn,
Jesus went to the disciples by walking on the water. By this time, the
disciples trembled with fear since they had been in the storm on the sea. They saw
Jesus and thought He was a ghost and so were more afraid. Jesus identified
Himself and told them to be courageous and not fear. Peter told Jesus, “Lord,
if it is You, tell me to come to You on the water.” Jesus said, “Come.” Peter
stepped onto the water and began to walk while keeping his eyes on Jesus. When
he looked away and saw the raging sea, he became afraid and began to sink.
Peter said, “Lord, save me!”
(Matthew 14:22-33)
Isn’t this like so many of us? We have faith until the storms of life
come against us. Then we remember Jesus and His power and love for us. This
causes us to have great faith, so we can step out and follow Him despite the
storms. Yet many of us, most of us
initially, look at the storm instead of the Savior. We consider how great
the storm is and forget how great the Master is, the One who created the
matter.
Just as Jesus did for the disciples, He does for us. He reaches out His
hand, catches us, chastises our little faith lovingly to teach us, and gets
into our boat with us calming the sea as He does.
God wants our love for Him and faith in Him to grow. He allows circumstances
to happen so we will trust Him more and grow in our relationship with Him-so
that our faith will grow.
What is the difference between when Jesus told Peter, “Come” and when He
climbed into the boat?
The difference is Jesus first took Peter out of his comfort zone to grow
him. He walked with Peter through the storm.
The second is Jesus calmed the storm. He took Peter and the other
disciples out of the storm by bringing stillness and calm back to their
surroundings.
God can answer prayer for help during storms in two ways: remove the
storms or walk with you in the storms.
God didn’t change. His love for you is the same.
What changes is your perspective. The days of storms are like the days
you wake up and the crows caw. God created them and is Master of them, but to
you, it portends a bad day.
The days of calm winds and no storms are like the days you wake to birds
singing. Once again, God created them and is Master of them, but to you, no
challenges seem to be on the horizon.
What changed with each? Did God change? No. God is still the Master and
in charge of everything.
What changed is your perspective. We see the beautiful day and know our
God can Master that. The circumstance does not define God, but God defines
the circumstance. God’s got this, we think.
On the other hand, when we see the stormy day, we begin to question
God’s might and mastery. The circumstance, in our minds, defines God. That
should never be!
God defines all circumstances and is Master of them all. Nothing defines
Him.
God
is the definer-the Creator-of all things.
What changed? Our perspective.
We each must grow in our faith. God does not always calm the storms.
Because of His love for us, He wants us to grow
stronger in our faith.
Because of His love, He walks with us in the storms.
Did you hear that? God walks WITH
us in the storms. That is perfect love. And remember, “Perfect love
casts out fear.”
The next time you wake up to a day and feel like it will be a bad day,
or you are going through a stormy time in your life, remember…
God loves you. His love is perfect. His love casts out
fear.
God
walks with you through your storm! He
loves you!
Lord, sometimes all I see is the storm. I cannot see
You. Help me see You and trust You. Walk with me through the storm and grow me
to be more like You. Make me faithful and strong in You and Your love.
