The Storms of Life

Have you ever sung the children’s song about the wise man who built is house upon the rock and the foolish man who built his house upon the sand . This was one of my favourites when I was a kid and I know my children enjoyed singing it.

It is based on a parable that Jesus told. It is recorded in Luke 6:46-49and  Matthew 7:24-27. The two men build their houses and then the storm comes. The house built on the rock stands firm but the house built on the sand is demolished by the storm

 

 My contemplations on these passages roused the questions “What are the storms of life” and “What storms have I faced”.

The storm, in the parable, is described by the words; ‘flood’, ‘vehement beating’ and ‘tumultuous’.

1.       Flood.

A recent TV news item was about a flood and I saw many photos of people sitting on the top of their houses or on the top of their cars waiting to be airlifted to safety. The flood waters were rising. The houses and gardens and cars were slowly sinking below the water level and the trapped people could do nothing about it They sat waiting and watching and hoping that they would be rescued before the water level over took them. They could do nothing to hold back the floodwaters and nothing to save themselves.

Similarly, we have had our shed flooded before. The more we tried to move boxes to higher ground the more we spread the water about and more things got wet. And then, after a little while, we would realise that the floodwaters had increased more than we expected and so the “higher ground” wasn’t high enough. We had to again move all the boxes to even higher ground 

One thing about floods is that they make you feel really ineffectual.

2.       Vehement beating

 The forces of the storm were hard and hurtful. There seemed to be no relief. One wave after another and one gale after another with hardly time to take a breath. The force in the storm was constant

3.       Tumultuous.

In this storm there was rain, wind, streams of water and floods all beating vehemently on the house. The weather was tumultuous. And in a tumult the unexpected happens. ‘A tumult’ by definition is disordered. Remember when you have walked in the storm and the wind suddenly blew your skirt over your face (like on the old movies) or blew your umbrella inside out – totally unexpected occurrences.

4.       Bleakness

The fourth characteristic of a storm (not mentioned in this passage) is bleakness. When you walk in a storm you feel like you are in a haze. You can’t see the road ahead. (or you can’t see what is happening to the house next door) The rest of life and especially the future, seem hazy, unclear and plain bleak.

If we think about these words that describe storms we can more easily see when we go through the storms of life

We have all faced times when we felt totally ineffectual in the situation we found ourself: Where we felt that there is very little, if anything that we could do to change the situation and all our attempts seem futile.

Have you been through times where you have had difficulty predicting the next response or reaction in a situation? These can be very frustrating times -the unexpected keeps happening.  Other people respond to something you have said or done in a way that you not only did not expect but that you had not even thought as an option. We all plan our lives but sometimes we find ourselves in a situation they is totally not in our plan.

Sometimes trials and troubles just keep coming. We are hit by a new trial before we have time to mentally and emotionally come to terms with the first

Sometimes we just go through very bleak times. We are very unsure of what the future holds for us and we find it hard to see past our immediate problems.

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These are the storms of life

But remember that the house built on the rock stood firm. Jesus says that the house built on the rock was a picture of a man who hears the words of Christ and does them.

When we go through the storms of life we more than ever, need to exercise ourselves in remembering God’s word, obeying his commands, pleading his promises and rejoicing in his goodness. The ‘rock’ is Truth. Jesus says that he is the Truth. When we build on that rock we are making God’s Truth the foundation for our lives.

What He says is true and must be believed and obeyed.

There are so many verses that will help us in the storm times. My favourite is Ps 46. 

But also remember

Luke 18:27 “The things which are impossible with man are possible with God”, when you feel ineffectual

Ps37:23 “The steps of a good man are established by the Lord”, when the unexpected happens and

Ps147:3 “He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds”, when you are hurting 

Jeremiah 29:11.  God’s promise “to give us a future and a hope” when the future seems bleak.

Strengthen your life to stand firm through the storms of life by making a list of God’s promises and commands that will encourage you through the stormy days

Elizabeth George says:-

‘God’s care is unceasing

His love is unending

His guidance is unfailing

His presence is everlasting’

We all go through different storms but we will all experience the same effects of the storms. Let’s pray for one another that we will be able to stand firm remembering and obeying God’s Word when the storm is hard upon us. And lets build our life on the rock of God's truth.

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