Introduction

We all face ‘storms’, they are inevitable to life. What matters is how we prepare ourselves beforehand in order to live through them and emerge on the other side.

In each challenging situation we face, the test for us is the same: how will we stand? Only a full assurance of who our God is and who He has called us to be through Jesus’ blood will enable us to stand strong in Him as well as reach out an arm offering the certain hope of the gospel to others who are floundering.

These storms and challenges offer us real opportunities to shine the Light of Life we carry in our hearts. But it will not shine if our foundation is unstable and we do not know the nature, promises, character and faithfulness of our covenant-keeping God. These things are the true hope of the gospel the people around us need too.

Some years ago, I found a photograph of a lighthouse standing strong in the midst of an angry swirling sea. The waves were so high they reached half-way up the side of the building.When I looked more closely, I could see the lighthouse keeper standing in the doorway with his arms folded and every appearance of calm and peace. This image really spoke to me and since then I have been taken on a journey with God which I now share with you in Walking with God Through the Storm.

Please have a Bible or Bible app, and a notebook and pen, handy as you go through this devotional.

Sarah Winbow

------------------------

The end-time ‘storm’

Read Matthew 24:1-51.

Whilst it is very true that we are all tested and challenged by our own storms, we do not live our lives in isolation. There is always a context for our daily lives. As believers in Jesus that context should be defined by the constant expectation of His return. Jesus outlined a relatively short but fiercely intense time of sifting in the nations that must precede His coming. The apostles expected His imminent return, and we’ve seen this expectation being repeated throughout history: during:

• the Crusades;
• the Reformation;
• the reign of Catholic Queen ‘Bloody’ Mary;
• Cromwell’s Commonwealth.

Persecution of God-fearing believers has always been a sign for those living in this expectation.

The apostles expected His imminent return, and we’ve seen this expectation being repeated throughout history

When I first became a Christian in the early 1970s it was a time of great expectation. As a teenager, Hal Lindsay’s controversial apocalyptic book, The Late Great Planet Earth terrified me that the end of the world was imminent. The upside was it was absolutely normal for Christians to go round telling people “Jesus is coming back!” We wore the T-shirts and had psychedelic stickers on our Bibles declaring the same message.

During the 80s and 90s things changed: if we preached about the second coming, we were regarded as something of an embarrassment. Perhaps we had become too sophisticated to believe in such things any more.

Whilst on retreat on Lundy in February 2005, I clearly heard the Lord say “There’s a storm coming.” I immediately knew God was not referring to an actual storm hitting land, but He was speaking to me of the ‘great storm’ prophesied in scripture (the ‘Day of the Lord’ - eg, Obad 1: 15; 1 Thess 5:1-11) that is coming on the whole world – not just the British Isles.

Perhaps we had become too sophisticated to believe in such things any more.

On that retreat I came to understand that this would not be just one event but an intensifying storm which will see us live through a whole series of seemingly natural, ecological, economic, social and political circumstances; events and outcomes that will eventually have considerable consequences on how we are allowed to live our daily lives and, especially as Christians, how we are able to practise and live out our faith.

Every aspect of modern society will be severely tested and shaken. Persecution and discrimination is not something that happens to people on the other side of the world; it is already here. Our civil liberties to speak and to live out our faith are already undermined in our laws.

Additional reading: Daniel 12:1-4; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11.

Every aspect of modern society will be severely tested and shaken.

Prayer Time
Reflect on all you have read today.

• How do you feel about this era in which we now live?
• Are you afraid?
• Do you want to hide or run away?
• Do you hope to be able to stand through it?

Write down any thoughts or questions you have.

Talk to Father God about your thoughts and be honest about your fears. Ask Him to fill you with His peace and to teach you how to grow strong in Him.

Other devotionals in this series can be accessed here.