The Storm

in the midst of a Storm - a painful

adventure which challenges me this 

way and that - especially when the 

outcome is protracted and nebulous 

while feeling powerless to confidently

steer my half-sunken vessel into any 

of the meager options as anxious 

imaginations and vain dreads flash-

flood my battered beliefs as my

repetitive cries for relief and favorable 

resolution seem to be disregarded 

once again by the Master of my 

beleaguered ship as I find myself

fruitlessly striving for Peace by Trusting 

that - whatever the outcome and however

prolonged and violent the Storm -

both within and without - He WILL 

Calm the Sea...eventually...but in the 

meantime as the winds gust and the 

rain hammers down and the rolling 

waves lash dangerously high then 

brutally low...I wait... and wait... for 

an answer but only Silence responds 

the loudest to my desperate supplications 

and I am compelled to ask...Will I

Trust... the One who Trusted while bearing 

the Burden of Unending Guilt while 

Himself being Infinitely Innocent?...

the One Lone Light in a World Darkened 

by Sin?...the One whose Intentional 

Submission Bore the Rebellion of the 

Masses? reluctantly and without surprise                          

I once again conclude that my meager

efforts will never be sufficient to reap a 

Harvest of Kingdom-Fruit to fill my now 

depleted storeroom...that it can ONLY be 

by HIS Power / Grace - not by MY Gerbil-

Wheel Striving - that will enable me to...

- Confidently Surrender to His Purposeful  

Allowances and the Mysterious Designs 

of this Adversity that it is the Best Way 

for Him to Achieve His Good Ends in me 

even though veiled from sight and arduous 

to endure..

- Receive the Balm of Peace and let it

Soothe my fierce reactions and Quiet 

my questioning heart

- Join my hidden affliction to the Public 

Degradation of His Crucifixion - 

a Spectacle of Divine Intervention 

undergone for no other reason than 

His Extravagant Mercy / Love for me 

despite all my habitual self-preoccupation 

and pitiful whining - and thus sow 

Meaning into my anguish so that I

Become More Like Him and His 

Kingdom-Grace is bestowed upon 

those for whom I make this Storm a 

Sacrificial Offering as I in Trust keep 

my eyes fixed on the Master of Mercy 

and Rely on the Embrace of His Spirit 

to bring about whatever Good He 

Desires as well as His Peaceful Calm 

to the Storm within and - in His Perfect 

Timing - without 

Reflection / Discussion:

-What is your experience of being in a Storm?

-What lessons did you learn?

-How did the Lord use it in your life?

-How do faith and feelings differ . intermingle in a Storm?

-Why is Grace the key to unlocking the mystery of suffering?

-What does "Redemptive Suffering" mean?

-How can you be a support for someone you love who is going 

  through a Storm?