A Beatutiful Beast - Storms

Awesome in power and beautiful with its lightning strikes when viewed on television. Fearsome in its savagery and destructive power when engulfed by it. Such is the paradox of the ‘beautiful beast’ called a storm.

The first recorded storm comes from the Biblical account of the worldwide flood in Noah’s day. The sign in the sign afterwards proclaimed a promise wrapped up in the first ever rainbow. In Scripture there are a number of rampaging ‘beautiful beasts’ mentioned. Most are associated with sailing. We recall Jonah but forget Jehoshaphat’s wrecked ships at Ezion-geber (1 Kings 21:48).

In the Gospels there are three specific references to storms. Each of them have an application to how our faith is tested and shaped by life’s storms. This is true whether we find ourselves in midst of a furious physical storm, an ethical, emotional or spiritual one.

Storm 1. Is mentioned in a parable by Jesus as He sums up the Beatitudes. We all build our lives on some foundation, which Jesus classed as Rock or Sand. Both lives, depicted as houses, suffer the assault of the ‘beautiful beast’. In both houses fear would have been felt but only one would be destroyed. The life built upon the ‘Rock’ which refers to the Word of God, prevails. That doesn’t mean to say that there wasn’t damage or pain or fear to the life. No! What is being stressed by Jesus is the life is not shattered even though it has been battered.

Storm 2. In the very next chapter 8 in Matthew’s account is a storm. These professional fishermen were unable to cope with its ferocity. A strange picture is presented by a sleeping Jesus in the midst of the boat being swamped. Many of us have found the storm of life smashing into us and our voice being raised “Jesus, wake up!” Why did Jesus ask them what appears to be a silly question? He said “Why are you afraid, of you of little faith?” The implied answer is, no vessel can sink when the Lord is on board, awake or seemingly asleep!

Storm 3. In Matthew 14 is the feeding of the 5,000 men. Afterwards Jesus went up into the mountains to pray. The disciples took to their boat and merrily sailed away with warm and exciting memories. Evening darkness enveloped them and an unexpected ‘beast of a storm’ pounced. But there wasn’t any sleeping Jesus. He was absent. Why didn’t the Lord rush to their aid, for He could see their plight from the heights? How often have we wondered where Jesus is in the midst of our personal dealings with our own ‘beast of a storm.’ Could one of His reasons be to teach us He is able to come to us ‘walking on the water’ for He is the master over the ‘beautiful, ferocious beast.’ As with the fishermen so to with us, our response is a deeper faith and gratitude in Him.

Storm 4. This happened to Paul in Acts 27. Dispatched to Rome to be tried by Caesar the authorities ignored the season’s changing weather situation. It was approaching the time for the Euroclydon (northeaster) to arise and blow. It did!  The account shows the magnitude of the storm. Why did they suffer the fear, the loss, the harrowing of those fourteen days? Because of a fateful and rash choice. Why were all on board not killed? Because God had promise years before to Paul he would bear testimony to Jesus before Caesar. Because of that promise all on board the doomed boat were under God’s protection.

The reason for these accounts to be in Scripture is to teach us, warn us and encourage us to cling by faith to Jesus, the Lord over the storm. We live in an unstable world which seems to breed these ‘storms’ of emotional, spiritual, ethical and relational categories. Jesus, through His word, wants us to be faithful in the storm, strong when the ‘beast snarls’ at us to cower us. He also wants us to be merciful when for no reason of our own we are caught up in the storm caused by others. Turn it into a testimony of grace in the name of Jesus.

The God who knits.

I’d been watching my wife do some clothing repairs for our grandchildren. Reminded me of those years, now long gone, when she was seamstress and tailor for me and our children. It may sound strange, but I don’t think it’s out of order when I tell you how her knitting and sewing reminded me of God. He is both the mender of lives and the one who knits. The Lord has the amazing ability to create garments of beauty out of the ashes of a person’s life. Isaiah wrote of how Yahweh would weave a garment of praise out of the ashes of a burnt out life (Isaiah 61:3). Jesus quoted the prophet in the Nazareth synagogue at the commencement of His ministry (Luke 4:17).

This was beautifully highlighted in the testimony of a man I once heard as well as many other testimony also. In his own words he was previously a hopeless case. Family, friends and community workers had written him off as beyond help, the burnt out wreck of an abused childhood and destructive choices. I have to confess I was in tears as he spoke. He gave the glory to the Lord and was thankful that Jesus had men and women at Christian Drop-In centres. They cared for him and shared the good news of Christ's love. It took time for him to realise how the Almighty could knit a new life out of the ashes of his old one. One day he came to desperation point and cried out unreservedly for Jesus to save him, and change him. It happened!  When he said that with the tears of gratitude in his eyes and words, I felt like standing up and cheering!  The change in him was proven over time.  It took a period of time for the knitting process of God takes place. He weaves the grey and black ashes of a person's life with the gold and rainbow colours of grace, mercy and praise.

           

It’s an unending delight to come across men and women who wear Christ Jesus' unique designer garments. He is certainly not into mass production of clones whose stories are all the same.  The Holy Spirit makes the clothes exclusively out of their own ashes and combines them with the glory of Christ Jesus. The only requirement for this is for a person to hand his or her life over to Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Friends and acquaintances understand God's knitting prowess when they see the wearer showing and declaring God's garment of praise. 

I find there is a tendency in my heart, and I hear the same from others, to compare the Lord's knitting. My ashes were not anywhere near as dramatic or complex as the man’s I heard talk, or others I've known. I’m glad about that by the way. We all have our own stories, dreams and nightmares mixed in with the ashes of sin, failures, and indifference to God. Our stories are each unique. However, the Holy Spirit has the power and skill through the Cross of Christ to make us beautiful before the Lord God. He give us the garment of praise, individually fitted, to wear on the ‘catwalks’ of life . It is there we each bear testimony to our Lord's saving grace. Of course there is more, much more woven into the garment He knitted and placed in and over our heart. Righteousness, Truth, Worship, Steadfastness and others are all threads of Christ's saving power.

The beauty of what the Lord knits is that it never fades or wears out. In fact, the more it is worn and shown in everyday living the more it glows. That garment of praise is designed to go with any other outfit you or I are called to wear. It means when I’m wearing my servant clothes, prayer shawl, hospital dress, sporting gear or being in the ‘witness box’ I will bring Him praise either vocally or by my bearing.

Ray Hawkins. Oct. 31st 2016.