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AFTER THE STORM!! (a story of
God’s goodness…read:
PSALM 46) The
recent hurricanes, typhoons, tsunami waves, earthquakes, fires, floods, tornadoes…taking
place in all nations catch the world’s attention. The news shows great waves crashing,
houses smashed, dead bodies… people crying. But
after a few days, THE STORM IS OVER…and we forget about it. In
Baker, Louisiana we were flooded twice when a long storm flooded a small
creek & turned it into a big river.
The first time it happened, I was alone in the house and was standing
outside REBUKING THE STORM and the RAIN as I saw the neighbor’s houses flood
one by one. I
had gone thru this 3 times, and each time, the water had stopped just an inch from my
doorway!!!! But this time………..water
started coming in on all 4 sides of the house at once. I didn’t know where to
start…I was throwing things up on the beds, crying out to God to help, as
water was even coming up from the bath drains, & I couldn’t keep up. Then the lights
went out!! Finally somebody came with a big truck and helped us load our
furniture on it and drove us out.……………… Finally,
the rain stopped. The sun came
out… We stayed with friends on dry
ground for 3 days till the water went down:
The
people we stayed with told us to go home because the storm was over and the water was
gone…and they weren’t used to having 3 little kids around! But we couldn’t go home yet! …we didn’t know
where to go!! It
was AFTER THE STORM, but our house was filled with mud halfway up the
walls. The closets were all
warped…the sheet rock all wavy….the insulation sopping wet….the rugs
ruined…brand new cabinets beyond repair….all metal was rusty….and
things were smelling pretty bad! Many
things were ruined forever…..Pictures, photos, books…clothes….gone. But
nobody came to help us then…….they
had gotten on with their lives and figured we were getting on with ours. Some people came by from the church (of
3,000 people) to look at the damage, and I remember them shaking their heads
and saying “my my my.” ….they would leave, saying “sorry” &
shake their heads for our trouble.
The Storm was over…the CLEAN UP time had come..&
we were alone. But
GOD IS NOT LIKE THAT! The storms of Satan can come in so quietly and gently
to wreck a life. People who do not
know Jesus as their Savior are often in storms of horrible dismay and tension
and calamity! But also Christians are
attacked by storms resulting from wrong choices, anger, etc. We
spend a lot of time praying for our friends in a storm of life. We
even fast for them, lay hands on them….cry for them
because of the horrible things happening in their lives!!!! WE call them on the phone…..write them
encouragement cards…give them money… FINALLY….the
LOVE of God comes
in and stills that storm for that troubled soul. Peace….peace….Oh sweet peace and
deliverance. When
we hear of a sinner coming to Jesus, we just rejoice with them. When we hear that our friend is delivered
from their trouble, we just REJOICE.
We shout “HALLELUJAH! YOU ARE FREE!” Then
we get on with our lives again and forget about the STORM. BUT
GOD DOESN’T FORGET! Because the LORD knows that the CLEAN-UP
after a storm is very very difficult and time
consuming and even depressing. Have
you ever had to clean up after a storm? It’s not easy! The CLEAN-UP after a storm is a terrible
trauma and takes a very long time. We
see the things in our lives that have been destroyed. We don’t know how to put it all back
together again. We don’t know how to
fix it. Where to get the money? Our minds are confused by it all. The memories of the storm keep coming
back…& even fear.……………..and the prayers are not
there…….the help is not there AFTER THE STORM. BUT
GOD is GOOD. He IS THERE AFTER THE STORM, to help clean
up all the loose ends…the broken pieces….And…he sticks around during the
whole process. He helps us scrub the
mud off the walls of our heart………Oh, it takes so long….He helps us wash all the dirty
thoughts & shelves & floors. He helps us get the stink out of our
minds & paint up everything….He gives courage, and strength…&
ENCOURAGEMENT! .He gives LOVE everlasting. Are
your friends newly saved, but having trouble staying in line with God’s
Word? Do they fall back into old
patterns too easily? Are you impatient with them cause
their life is not changing fast enough?
REMEMBER THE GOODNESS AND MERCY OF GOD to you…and BE THERE for the
CLEAN-UP after the storms in people’s lives.
BE LIKE JESUS….HE IS SO SO GOOD! You may want to
go to the mission field, but maybe he wants you on the Clean up committee! (ps. One man did offer us a house to live in for
one month free & one lady, who worked full time..spent
all her free days helping us scrub up
the kitchen things & she was very happy doing it. They blessed us, and they blessed God too
and they got a blessing!) CAROL
HALL, NAGOYA, JAPAN |
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