Luke 8

Fun Fact about Rachel #283:

I really do not like rain.

It irritates me, my pants get all wet, I always always forget my umbrella, and my hair has a vendetta against the rain. So I get to suffer the embarrassment that is my hair on any day there is a slight amount of moisture in the air. So with that being said, has anyone else noticed that it's rained like...all year? Ugh. It rained on my birthday...at the beach, it rained on my wedding day...and it rained on my honeymoon. I really really do not like rain.

I was probably around 17 before I figured out that the world did not revolve around me ( !?!?! I KNOW, I was surprised too.) So just because I don't like rain, obviously doesn't mean The Lord is going to command the heavens close up and quit raining, simply because I want it to.

Hubs and I have been working our way through the Gospels. We've started on Luke and came across chapter 8 yesterday. 

There is SO MUCH in this chapter I think worthy of study. I spent an entire day reflecting on the first 15 verses ( The Parable of the Farmer Scattering Seed - it'll make you think! )

But what stuck out to me most yesterday was when Jesus Calms the Storm:

One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's cross to the other side of the lake." So they go into a boat and started out. As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm. Then he asked them, "Where is your faith?" The disciples were terrified and amazed. 'Who is this man?' they asked each other. 'When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!' 

- Luke 8:22-25

I would have been one of those disciples freaking out. I think The Lord pointed this out to me and had it sit on my heart so heavy, as to ask me where my faith was? 

See, I'm currently 'mid-storm' with a certain situation in my life. The figurative waters are rising, the waves are high, and sometimes I get really afraid that I'm going to drown. I've tried and tried to do everything in my ability to survive this storm, but it's too big, too strong and I'm freaking out. 

Have you ever read a passage in the bible, and instantly thought, "I was supposed to read that" well, that was me yesterday morning. I knew The Lord was speaking to me through Luke. Where is my faith? Have I fully given this problem to God, and let Him take control?

I love how the passage says 'the storm stopped, and all was calm'. Even though I don't care for rain, how beautiful is everything after it stops? The sky is always bluer than before, the suns a little warmer, everything is greener, and everything does seem calm. I think that's how 'storms' in our lives are, and sometimes when it rains it pours and everything goes wrong all at once. But how great is it when we give those storms to The Lord, and have the faith that with Him, we'll be fine. We can count on Him, to calm the waves and know that everything will be beautiful in the end. For me, the storms and rain are worth it.

xoxo,

Rachel

Currently listening to: Hillsong United Pandora Radio. (it's a good one :) )