A few days ago I was flying from the West coast of the United States to a city in the midwest. I was high above the clouds at forty one thousand feet cruising in the smooth rarefied air. When I came to the Rocky Mountains, it started getting rough and bumpy. I was in the jet stream, but because of the wind flowing over the mountains the air is being deflected up it forms turbulence. It can even form a giant wave of air. To pilots this is commonly known as a mountain wave and one can often see the presence of it in the form a lens shaped cloud.
As I traveled east past the Rockies over the plains, the air became smooth once again. Now I was very comfortable. I sat back and relaxed and poured myself a cup of coffee. As I looked out the window, I could see small thunderstorms beginning to build out in front of me and to my right. I was amazed at how quickly they grew. They were explosive in their very nature as they formed. What was very small one minute was a fully developed storm the next, progressing through the atmosphere at an alarming rate. They would rise; a churning mass of frozen water colliding with the tropopause and flattening out into an anvil shape.
As I was high in the smooth air racing with the wind, I began to think of how God often protects me from these storms and from the storms of life. So often we can be at total peace and a big storm can come up in our lives, just as it did the day the disciples were out in the boat when they saw Jesus……..Suddenly the “Peace Speaker” spoke and the storm was stilled.
So often I fly around and through bad weather…but I have learned that the same God who calms the storm also said ….fear not, for I am with you………yes….through the storm. As a pilot I have as one of my favorite scriptures Psalms 23. The Psalmist says that God leads me besides “still” waters. Perhaps the most comfort comes from the Psalmist who said it best in Psalms 37: 23 & 24….The steps of a man are established by the Lord; and He delights in his way. When he falls, he shall not be hurled head-long; Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand. Phillipians 4:11 says …….b for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.
Have you allowed God to get in your boat this week and “still the waters”? He is there waiting…..an saying……..fear not!
Let the “Peace Speaker” …..speak to the storms in your life today, he speaks to mine every week in more ways than one.
Steve
(C) Steven A. Johnson 2008