Before the Storms Roll In

Before the storms roll in, we check the circumstances we face in them. That's for storms we can see, storms that potentially shake the windows and the foundations.

But we need to be prepared for other kinds of storms, too, those that can rattle our lives.

First, there is the matter of our foundation. In Matthew 7, Jesus compares two builders thus: "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house, and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house, and it fell--and great was the fall" (Matt. 7:24-27; NAS).

Second, there is the matter of our windows, or eyes. In Matthew 6 Jesus stated this: "The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness?" (Matt. 6:22-23; NAS). How clear is our spiritual sight?

Third, there is the promise of God we find in Psalm 46: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present hold in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; thought its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah" (Ps. 46:1-3). For those whose trust is in the Lord, whatever form storms take, He is with them in the storm.