Sovereignty includes everything . . .

Genesis 8; Matthew 8; Ezra 8; Acts 8

I’ve occasionally prayed about the weather, but with caution. I know Who controls it and I want my prayers to fit with His plans. Today’s readings and other passages affirm that God uses weather for His purposes.

The one most people know is the 40 days and nights of rain as judgment on a world that had become thoroughly corrupt and full of violence (Genesis 6:11ff). After the rain produced a vast flood, God again showed His power over the weather:

But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, (Genesis 8:1–2, italics mine.)

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:20–22)

I tend to focus on the bad news but today the promise caught my eye. God said that even though humanity is sinful, He promised that the patterns of weather would not cease as long as the earth remains.

Further evidence of God’s hand in the weather is even more specific. He told Jonah to go warn the people of Nineveh to repent or face judgment. Jonah didn’t want to so he took off in the opposite direction. God stopped him with a storm . . . 

But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. (Jonah 1:3–4, italics mine.)

The pagan sailors were terrified, particularly when they realized why they were experiencing this disaster. Jonah told them to throw him overboard since he was the cause of it. Finally, after much persuasion, they agreed “and the sea ceased from its raging.” (Jonah 1:14)

Jesus gives another example:

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” (Matthew 8:23–27)

Just a word and the storm ceased. I’m thinking it was likely just His word that started it in the first place; He had a lesson to teach them.

He also teaches me a lesson. James wrote about the importance of keeping short accounts regarding getting my prayers answered. This is about healing and about praying for other things — like the weather!

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. (James 5:16–18)

Personal application is obvious; keep short accounts, no matter what I’m praying about. Also, Elijah was a prophet who was obviously in close connection with God when he prayed as he did. I need to be the same. He hears those whose hearts are in tune with His heart. I also need to consider and pray for the turmoil in the lives of people who think that the world’s population controls the weather.

Faith — no matter what?

Sometimes trouble comes and it seems like God is looking the other way or has gone for a long walk and is out of sight. This is only a feeling and not reality. The Bible is clear that He will never leave or forsake me. However, that does not exclude the horrid feeling that He has!

“And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, ‘Save us, Lord; we are perishing.’ And he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?’ Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm . . . .” (Matthew 8:23–27)

The disciples saw Jesus sleeping. They also saw the danger they were in, but in Luke’s account Jesus told them they were going to the other side. He didn’t say they were going to capsize. Which option would they believe — their fears or Jesus’ words?

Chambers adds that when a crisis comes, Christians should be so confident in the Lord that we are the reliable ones when others are losing their calm. We tend to trust Him up to a certain point, then go back to elementary panic prayers — just like people who do not know God.

I know that feeling. A problem becomes intense. At first I trust Him (I get in the boat), but after a while the problem intensifies and my heart starts racing. He seems to be asleep and the problem begins to wash over me. I begin to think without faith and forget His sovereign grace.

At some point, I begin to realize that I’ve added my own wants and wishes to His promises. He said to the disciples that they were going to the other side. He did not promise easy sailing. He tells me that He will never leave or forsake me, but He didn’t say that I would always experience that delightful and comforting sense of His presence. Either I have added stuff that He didn’t promise, stuff that I want for me, or I have paid too much attention to my fears and my feelings and not enough to what He has said.

“O you of little faith” must have produced an awful feeling in the hearts of those men who thought they could follow Him no matter what happened. It gives me an awful feeling too, even though I realize that my disappointment is not in Him, but in the reality that He will not always grant what I want. Instead of trusting in Him and His wise and sovereign rule in my life, I continually fall into the trap of adding my desires to His promises and thinking He is my servant instead of the other way around.

The problems and crisis situations instantly reveal upon what or whom I rely. In some of these situations, my faith rises like the waves of the sea and easily overcomes the test. In some of them, I fail miserable, and am miserable when I do. Like the disciples, I cry out for Jesus to calm the storm rather than calm my heart and take me to the other side.

Trusting God means just that — reaching my breaking point and still remaining confident that God will stay close and take whatever action needed to show me that He loves me, He is still in charge, and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Stability in the storms

In our part of the world, it rained so much last month that when I went out, I didn’t know whether to take an umbrella or a canoe! August is a most welcome month as it brings more settled weather. It hasn’t rained for at least 36 hours and the sky today is clear.

Storms are often used in the Bible as a metaphor for the trials of life. However, what the disciples experienced on the sea of Galilee with Jesus was no metaphor.

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”(Matthew 8:23–27)

Today’s devotional reading points out that for parts of life there are no storm, no crisis, and during those times, we do our human best. However, when a crisis arises, we instantly reveal upon whom we rely.

This is so true. If my trust in God only goes up to a certain point, trouble will produce those basic panic prayers like those prayed by people who do not know God. This reveals that I am not really trusting that Jesus controls the world and the affairs of my life. Instead, for me He seems to be asleep and I can see nothing but high waves ahead. If I am relying on myself and suddenly find that I have no resources, I panic. I see others do the same, just as the disciples did.

Jesus said that they had little faith, yet they did not stay that way. As they walked with Him, their faith increased. It is the same for His people today. Through His Word and our experiences with Him, our faith grows. As I learn to worship and trust Him, then a crisis ought to reveal that even when I come to a breaking point, my confidence in Him remains firm.

The devotional says God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis we are the reliable ones. That means that we not only give joy to Him because of our faith, but we also become an anchor for others. Even if my faith in God is not shared by someone else who is in trouble, I’ve had people say that they like to hang around me because, “you are so stable.”

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Lord, I know You are my anchor in storms and the solid rock upon which I stand. I’m totally astounded and humbled that others would see me as a solid place for them when they panic. This is so amazing because when I am relying on You the most, I am also the most deeply aware of my weaknesses. Because of You, even when I feel like a useless pile of mush, others can see me as their source of stability. You again impress me with the importance of trusting You — all the time, no matter what happens, and particularly during storms.