Storms reveal wise builders !
Mt.7:24-25, ‘Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.’
The sermon on the mount preached by our Lord has been one of the core teachings of the New Testament. This sermon has literally covered every phase of our life, exposing the true spirituality, tearing off the veils of hypocracy and deception of spiritual world. Towards the end of this sermon, our Lord points out to a vital measuring scale of enduring relation with God. He points out to two persons, a wise man and a foolish one. Both build their houses and the strength of their houses were tested by rains, floods and blowing wind. The builder of the house which did not fall was proclaimed as wise by our Lord. The truth is that the rains, floods and the storms come against all kinds of houses, whether built on rock or on sand, but not all houses can endure. These are the end days of this world. The arising storms, one after the other is a proof of it. Each storm bigger than the earlier one. But the Lord reminds us that whatsoever be the storms, they will pass away. No storm will remain for ever. But the houses we build need to stand and endure all storms.
Acts 27:13-15, ‘ When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete. 14 But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called [b]Euroclydon. 15 So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her [c]drive.’ Apostle Paul got caught up in a storm on his way to Rome in Italy. The Lord had warned the centurion of the same through the apostle which was not given any heed. The apostle remained silent and in the Lord, waiting for the right opportunity to do what the Lord wanted him to do. Acts 27:21-26, ‘But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. 22 And now I urge you to take [f]heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For the Lord had said, ‘3 For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, 24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. 26 However, we must run aground on a certain island.”’ It was not Paul’s disobedience, but the centurian’s disobedience that caused the apostle to be caught in the storm. But the Lord turned it out all for good. The apostle pointed out to few things which ought to be kept in mind while facing a storm in the journey of faith.
Do not be afraid: This is the first thing the angel of God said to Paul. The much anointed apostle too needed these comforting words of God. Storms do have a tendency to shake our faith but in the midst of it, God is faithful to calm us and strengthen us with His unfailing words. No matter how much anointed and mature a believer might be, moments of fear can come across in one’s life. But the victory is when we are quick in remembering His Word and shake the pangs of fear off from our hearts, for fear and faith can never dwell together.
‘you must be brought before Caesar’ : This was a promise of God that Paul would share gospel with kings and authorities. God had promised that Paul would preach about Christ even to Caesar. And the promise was fulfilled irrespective of the storm. The storm might make our promises look shaky, but let us remember that the One who has promised us has all the power to do what He has promised. No storm can snatch away any of His divine promises from our hands.
…’ and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ God had a great purpose for this storm. He had appointed Paul not only to minister the kings, but also these passengers who travelled with Paul. He had to let them know about the Lord whom he served. Had this storm not raised, the co-passengers would never give any heed to any of the words Paul spoke. The centurian had already ignored of the warning given through him by the Lord. But Paul continued to encourage the passengers saying that the Lord had told him that none would loose their lives. There were 276 passengers in all. They were encouraged by Paul, who insisted them to eat in the midst of those tough times. Paul gave thanks to God and all paid attention to him. All of them got the opportunity to hear about Christ through Paul. Let us be reminded that every storm prepares an unseen pulpit to preach and represent Christ. And the Lord Himself attracts the audience.
‘However, we must run aground on a certain island.’ The ship had to go via an island which was not there in their earlier plan. The wrecked ship forced the passengers to land up in this island, inhabited by barbarous people. Soon, here too, mighty miracles were performed through Paul and caused many souls to hear the gospel. Storms might deviate us from our planned way but brings us into the divine way planned by God. And when God plans a way, He makes sure that souls and souls get to hear about the gospel at every nook and corner of the way. Paul had the plan to preach to the Caesar in his heart, but on the way he found innumerable souls giving their ears to the powerful gospel.
Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. The storm, the ship wreck and the great chaos and confusion could not shake Apostle Paul’s faith. It was firm, steadfast and very confident. He knew who had promised Him. So his faith became the anchor for all other souls with him who were literally shaken, fearful and shattered. Our faith in the midst of storms not only paves way for us, but also anchors the souls watching us closely to Christ, to whom we too are anchored.
All throughout this journey, Paul’s eyes were fixed on the Lord. He was in close fellowship with the Holy Spirit and that’s why he was allowed to know what laid ahead in the midst of journey. Paul used every opportunity to minister to all around him in all possible ways. He further reached the destination where he ministered to kings and authorities just as he was promised. He also got many unplanned audiences and souls to minister. The journey turned out to be a fruitful journey, even though he had to go through the storm.
Similar is the house built on the rock. If the builder heeds and obeys the Word of God in all circumstances, he or she is rooted in His Word which is the rock. The storms, rains and floods that come their way establishes their faith instead of uprooting it, purifies their hearts instead of confusing it and leads them to the promise of eternal life instead of being deceived by the evil one. Apostle Paul made sure to heed the voice of the Lord and be obedient to the vision of the great mission he was given by the Lord. He left no stone unturned regarding obedience to the Word of God and preaching the same. Rom.8:35-39, ‘Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ Apostle Paul turned out to be a wise builder who built his house on the rock. Times are hard and harder times are expected. Let us be the wise builders to build our house that will endure every rain, wind and flood and wait eagerly for the Lord’s coming.
God bless us all
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