The Voice out of the Storm

February 20, 2004                                                                          Job 40:3-9

CCI: God speaks to us from within the storms we face.

Intro: storm >noun 1 a violent disturbance of the atmosphere with strong winds and usually rain, thunder, lightning, or snow. 2 an uproar or controversy: the book caused a storm in America. 3 a violent or noisy outburst of a specified feeling or reaction: a storm of protest. >verb 1 move angrily or forcefully in a specified direction. 2 (of troops) suddenly attack and capture (a place). 3 shout angrily.

         A Storm. One of the most common fears people face is the fear of storms. They are unpredictable, they are uncontrollable, they have a life of their own and they have power beyond our imagination.

         Last year, 4 hurricanes swept across the state of Florida.

         On December 26, a storm in the Ocean swept away the lives of up to 350,000 people in the Indian Ocean basin.

         Whether wind, or wave, or rain or snow, storms can violently disrupt our lives. But we know that there are many other storms that can disrupt our lives.

         Between now and Easter, I want to talk with you about storms in our lives. We will be looking at some storms that are recorded in the Bible and then we will seek to understand what they have to say to us today.

         This week, I have been thinking about and reading the Book of Job and what I discovered is this: Job is a book of storms. It is a fascinating book. It is written as a drama, a play that is intended to be performed. There are stage directions (like Job sat on the ash heap and scraped his sores with a broken piece of pottery), character introductions, and even dramatic secrets that only the audience knows (like God making a deal with Satan).

         Job deals with one of the most difficult questions humans face, “Why do storms come into our lives?” For Job, for no apparent reason faced storms. There were storms of loss when his wealth was taken. There were storms of grief when all 10 of his children died in a whirlwind that crushed the house where they were having a party. There were lightening strikes from the storms in his marriage when his wife challenged him to curse God and die. There were storms that raged around his health as he body festered with sores that would not heal. There were storms of doubt as waves lashed at his spirit as he questioned God concerning his condition. There were storms of defensiveness, disappointment and anger that arose as his friends tried to comfort him by explaining away his suffering.

         And then in the grand climax of the story, after everyone has tried to defend God and explain away Job’s situation, there is another storm. This storm descends when God meets with Job. All his comforters have spoken and brought no help, he has responded to each one in his own defense but has found no answers. And then in chapters 38 and 40 we find God speaking to Job and challenging him. Listen to a few lines from this passage.

Job 40:3-9

Job answered the LORD:

"I am unworthy-how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer- twice, but I will say no more."

Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm:

"Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.

"Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?

“Do you have an arm like God's, and can your voice thunder like his?

         Out of the storm, God spoke. And interestingly enough, God does not answer the questions that have been haunting Job. Instead, God simply tells Job that this world has storms, and God is with us to speak to us out of the storm.

         But that is not the answer we want. We want to know the grand scheme. We want to understand why 350,000 people died on December 26. We want to understand the accidents and the fires and the tragedies. And God replies, “Can you pin down the chaos in the world? Can you find the storehouse of the snow?” This world has storms, but out of the storms, God speaks.

         You see, it is in the storms that we come to know God intimately. It is the storms that clarify our values. The storms force us to go deep. The storms make us face questions that we usually try to avoid. This world has storms, but out the storms, God speaks.

         On October 26, 2004 the Billingsgate Gazette reported one of the amazing side effects of Hurricanes Jeanne and Fances. Joel Ruth, while walking on the Treasure Coast of Florida after the Hurricane, picked up 180 silver pieces of eight worth $40,000. They were simply lying on the sand. In 1715 a fleet of 12 ships was returning to Spain when they encountered a terrible hurricane. The storm sunk the fleet and for 289 years the cargo remained hidden under the sand of the beach. Then came the latest storm and for a few hours, the sand that had hidden the silver was washed away and it lay exposed on the surface. The treasure that had been lost in a storm called out to the searcher in another storm.

         So often when storms enter our lives we run and hide. We are afraid. And yet it is in the storms that God speaks. Often, we do not see or even sense God’s presence, but he is there. William Frey, retired Episcopal bishop from Colorado, told the following story in a message on the power of God at work in us:

         When I was a younger man, I volunteered to read to a degree student named John who was blind. One day I asked him, "How did you lose your sight?"

         "A chemical explosion," John said, "at the age of thirteen."

         "How did that make you feel?" I asked.

         "Life was over. I felt helpless. I hated God," John responded. "For the first six months I did nothing to improve my lot in life. I would eat all my meals alone in my room. One day my father entered my room and said, 'John, winter's coming and the storm windows need to be up—that's your job. I want those hung by the time I get back this evening or else!'

         "Then he turned, walked out of the room and slammed the door. I got so angry. I thought Who does he think I am? I'm blind! I was so angry I decided to do it. I felt my way to the garage, found the windows, located the necessary tools, found the ladder, all the while muttering under my breath, 'I'll show them. I'll fall, then they'll have a blind and paralyzed son!'"

         John continued, "I got the windows up. I found out later that never at any moment was my father more than four or five feet away from my side."

         And that is where God is when we enter the storm. He is watching us, he is supporting us, he is quietly encouraging us, and should we fall, he there to save us.

         The only questions is, what do we really value when the storms rise? In the fall of 2003, a string of Southern California wildfires eventually claimed two-dozen lives. The flames moved at a speed faster than people could flee.

         Responding to complaints that some residents did not receive enough warning, Sgt. Conrad Grayson said, "We're begging people to leave, and they don't take us seriously. They want to pack some clothes, or fight it in the backyard with a garden hose. They don't seem to understand that this is unlike any fire we've seen. If people don't move fast, they're going to become charcoal briquettes."

         Jon Smalldridge frantically warned his neighbors, only to have some disregard him or respond too casually. He told of those who tried to save their televisions and computers before escaping. "They looked like they were packing for a trip. The ones who listened to me and left the area, lived. The ones who didn't, died."

         What will you cling to when the storms come? God will speak to us out of the storm. However, if we are focused on our clothes and televisions and computers, our attention will be elsewhere and we will miss the voice of God, we will miss the treasure.

         Job was ready to listen his hands were emptied of all that would distract him. And he encountered God in the storm.

         After hearing God speak, Job said,

         "I know that Thou canst do all things,

         And that no purpose of Thine can be thwarted.

         I have declared that which I did not understand,

         Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know."

         ‘I will ask Thee, and do Thou instruct me.'

         "I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear;

         But now my eye sees Thee;

         From the eye of the storm Job heard the voice of God and his life was transformed. As we reflect on storms in our lives over these next few weeks I would urge you to discover what is really important, to remember that God is right there beside you, and to be attentive to the Voice of God from out of the storm.

         In these next few moments, as we listen to song we will be singing in future weeks, take a few minutes with God and call out to him knowing that in the storm he is prepared to speak.

(Play Spin 20 #9 You’re All I Need)

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