Edge of the Storm- Look, See, Pray

Stormy weather- we are on the edge of this storm. To the West and North of us the conditions have been atrocious. Down here, some light damage: roof tiles, tree branches, and localised floods. The bad part is wondering if the storm will get worse.

I suspect quite a lot of people in Britain feel caught on the edge of another huge storm- politics are proving to be exciting (in a bad way). Parliament is ripped apart by the divisive issue of Brexit. Parties are split, the Cabinet is divided, and feelings are running high. The eventual outcome remains unknown, and the way forward is unclear. Trust is being trampled and everyone is blaming “the other lot.”

Fear not! I am not going to launch my political views (as good as they may be, or seem to be to me).

When life has storms, where do we go for help? I hope to encourage you to pray today that God’s will shall be done, here on Earth as it is in heaven.

A little-known prophetic book in the Bible has an author with a name almost as long as the prophecy! Zephaniah means “God has hidden/protected me.” Biblical names, especially in the Old Testament have descriptive meaning. Zephaniah spoke for God in a time where corruption and injustice were rife; and his message is uncompromising. Almighty God stands for justice and integrity, and we are called to stand with Him. Dreadful consequences are spelled out clearly- but at the end there is a comforting hope. Humanity is not left alone- God still cares for us, even though He may need to challenge and correct us. The storm that threatened Zephaniah’s audience became a whirlwind and their troubles became rooted in exile under unfriendly power.

Yet there is still hope. Please read this verse slowly and carefully, and take from it the eternal Truth of God’s Love and mercy. While we still have breath, we can turn to God. Turning to Him lifts the edge of the storm away from our shoulders. The promise in reinforced in the New Testament, where Jesus is titled “God who is with us.”

Zephaniah 3:17 “For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty saviour. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

006StormBrian1017rainbow — *Do not fear the storm- trust the Saviour who brings calm. Lord, may Your will be done. Amen.*

Mercy, mercy

Regular readers will know I love living near the sea. Ever-changing light, weather and waves fascinate me and provide camera fodder in generous measure.

The other morning I went down to the beach at Aldwick after a night of blustery weather. Endless ranks of waves were coming ashore, and as the crests broke the wind was just strong enough to whip the tops into spray.

A simple thought occurred to me. Nothing could turn back the waves: as every one threw itself against the shingle and rushed into its end, the next surge was following on. The stones and sand swallowed water and pushed back- each defeated wave drained slowly into the maelstrom, and added its weight to the incoming surge.

How like the endless mercy of God! A vast, measureless reservoir of grace flinging itself on to the hard stone of the shoreline. We cannot turn back the tide- it moves to a deeper rhythm and responds to the ceaseless wild wind. However hard our life, our circumstances, the mercy of God keeps pouring over our heads and hearts: we cannot control His love, but we can respond to it even in the storms.

There is a verse in Luke’s Gospel that I have never really noticed before today: a paraphrase of Luke 1:50 reads like this- “His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before him.” It comes in the middle of Mary’s great song of exultant praise as she and Elizabeth rejoice in the children they will bear through God’s choice and miraculous action. These women face life changes of a huge scale, but can see the favour of God on them and towards the struggling world.

We cannot exhaust the mercy and grace of God. His love is more vast than any ocean. Think on that, and be at peace! Imagine yourself at the edge of the sea of compassion…

Interrupted

Sea sparkling. Seat comfortable. Music inspirational. It was great. Part of my routine is to go to the beach on the way home from the school run. On warm mornings I wander along the pebbles and listen to the wavesong. On cooler mornings (like today) I stay warm in the car, window rolled down, and inspirational music playing gently to help me focus my thoughts and prayers. I was nicely settled, appreciating the view, and starting to think about the day ahead KABOOMMMMM!!!! Traffic News Jingle!!!! The A27 is busy at Arundel… slow on the A259 roadworks for the cyclepath… and on and on with tidings of misery and commuter heartbreak.

I didn’t need to know that. I didn’t want to know that. I wanted to be doing the important business of concentrating on God. This was supposed to be my holy bit, for heaven’s sake! I wasn’t even driving!!!

Sound familiar? The very time you are trying to be holy and do the God-stuff is when the phone goes, the microwave explodes, or the cat poos on the carpet.

That never happens to the vicar, does it. Or to Jesus. I mean, nobody ever interrupted Jesus when he was doing holy stuff, like a group of lads knocking holes in the roof to lower a mate down on a stretcher, for example… Ah.

Interruptions are everyone’s problem. I’ve even been known to interrupt myself and be my biggest distraction! It’s a miracle this post actually got written- I am only 90 minutes late starting it because of – well, if I’m honest, I let myself lose focus and did other things. But I got here in the end.

We can’t avoid interruptions. Sometimes they are just annoying! Other times they can be windows of opportunity. We can’t control interruptions- but we can choose HOW we respond to them. My interruption this morning led me to write this- perhaps just for you. When Jesus was interrupted by the roofing crew, it led to a desperate man being healed and many more people being astonished by godly compassion and power in Jesus.

Another day at the beach was interrupted by a storm; as it cleared, there was a gorgeous rainbow.

Life has sun and storms. Moments of concentration and distraction. God is ALWAYS there in all of life- even the inconveniences.

Spend a few (uninterrupted) minutes thinking about those highs and lows.

Remember the truth that God is Sovereign over all. Trust Him with your life, interruptions and all. They may be more important than we thought! Here are some words of wisdom by CS Lewis: “The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s ‘own,’ or ‘real’ life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one’s real life — the life God is sending one day by day.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Collected Works of C.S. Lewis

At just the right time

At just the right time…

Bank Holiday Monday… and it’s raining. How very British of the weather! So I can’t get out in the garden, I can’t gloat over the shed I built which is still standing despite the weather. I can’t – er, won’t – go out for a bike ride. So I’m looking at photos.

I thought this picture was a “noble failure.” I caught the wave breaking at just the right time- but the horizon wasn’t level and the colours were muted. But five minutes in an editing program and I like the end result. Just at the right time.

Yesterday was Easter Sunday- Resurrection Day. I had a really good morning worshipping with our new church family, all about the “Really, really Good News.” That’s what Easter is all about- the amazing lengths to which God will go in order to love and be reconciled to human beings. Paul, the great theologian of the Early Church, summed this up rather well.

This is the REALLY Good News for all of us- at just the right time. That’s NOW. Please don’t throw Easter away with the boxes of the eggs. As nice as it is (was?) chocolate is not the best bit of Easter.

Romans 5:6-11 (NLT)

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

Finding Wisdom on the Beach

It will be officially Spring on 1st March. Someone should let the weather know. We have snow forecast this week; a cold north-east wind is bringing Siberia to Sussex.

Despite the plunging temperatures, I am finding a benefit of living near the sea. It is a great place for wandering, pondering, and clearing the mind. I’m not the only one. This guy was walking towards the sunset as the tide pulled back. I’ll never know who he was. He was searching the sand and the breakwaters. I don’t know if he found anything, or even what he was looking for.

When I wander with my teeth chattering and my fingers freezing I find a sense of peace. Even when the ice or gales make for uncomfortable walking, the beach offers a myriad of interesting things. The tracks of seabirds, the colonies of shellfish, the patterns in the sand: the light picks out different features. Breaking waves and the sound of water retreating across the sands, with a chorus of gulls plaintively calling. Why do gulls sound so alone? Sunset skies dye the wet sand in glorious technicolour. The Sun, the Moon, and sometimes the stars, shimmer their fractured reflections across the restless waters. It’s so beautiful. It has become a holy place for me.

Day or night, it helps me to sense the closeness of Almighty God: all this is His, and still He cares for His children. God makes Himself known in and through this world. People of faith have known this for centuries. The prophet Amos spoke of this: “It is the LORD who created the stars, the Pleiades and Orion. He turns darkness into morning and day into night. He draws up water from the oceans and pours it down as rain on the land. The LORD is his name!“ Amos 5:8 (NLT)

I find myself taking opportunities to detour down to the beach. The long way home from the shops, the bank, our church. Ten minutes in the morning after dropping Juliet at school. An hour with the camera, looking for new ways to record the wisdom of God’s self-revelation in Creation. Time to reflect and pray for people and situations; time to filter out all the inner noise and confusions, the anger and irritations of an imperfect life.

Maybe tomorrow I will get to chase snowflakes into the sea. Perhaps the frost will laminate the pebbles. And just maybe, the quieting of my soul will allow the wisdom of God to touch my mind and change my heart. It is wise to search: to search is to find.

The Lord is His Name!

Heavy weather

There’s always heavy weather. As the south-westerly gale brought the breakers crashing against Portland Bill, one feature stood out. Pulpit Rock stands four-square against the elements, unshakeable and solid. The conditions were, in typical British understatement, “bracing.” A few of us had braved the rain and gales to stand in awe at the ferocity of the sea. One brave soul climbed to the top of Pulpit Rock (using the carved footholds) and looked out to sea. Then, shortly afterwards, a small lobster fishing boat lurched into view, rolling and plunging in alarming fashion. The photo cannot do it justice!

I expect the crew thought it was a normal February day’s work. I thought “I hope they didn’t have greasy bacon for breakfast!”

Behind us stood one large and two smaller lighthouses, put there to warn and guide passing ships. The rocks of Portland Bill are hard and dangerous. Sailors must be warned, and if that fails, rescued.

I feel rather like the climber. If the Rock represents my faith in God, much of my time for over 30 years has been spend on a solid foundation- looking out for and encouraging those going through the storms. The wind buffets me, but I am safe above the raging seas. Part of my responsibility has been to watch over and pray for the ones caught up in the storm.

I haven’t always succeeded. May God forgive me, and bless the ones that I failed.

Even when I have faithfully kept to my task, I can claim no credit for the help given, or even for the rescue of those caught in the heavy weather of life. What can I say to people, or even pray to God, when:

A much-loved child is ill, or is being bullied.
When work is so hard and the rewards are too few.
When the BBC News has only bad news and stark warnings.
Their diagnosis is serious, possibly even terminal.
A couple have reached the end of a marriage and want only to divorce.
God seems distant, and the storm is too strong.
At the graveside when deep love collides head-on with deep grief.

I have no easy answers. I have learned some lessons, though.

Being there matters more than what I say.
God can do things that I cannot do. It doesn’t all depend on me (thank goodness!).
For me to stand on the Rock of truth means I am seen, a witness and herald, and recognised as one who depends on God. Then my faith in Jesus brings comfort to those who struggle to hold onto their own belief and trust in the crisis.

There will be stormy days. Being caught at sea is dangerous. But our call is to go to those in peril, whatever the risk or cost. This is the motivation for Christians to go to wild places, and to look for those in danger of drowning; to give up their own hopes and ambitions so others might find solid ground on which to stand. Even standing on the rock can be cold and hazardous. That at least we can do!

Remember there are things that cannot be achieved without risk. Someone has to sail the boats. Who are you going to call? Who is watching out for you? Here’s a prayer of trust:

O LORD, I have come to you for protection; don’t let me be disgraced. Save me and rescue me, for you do what is right. Turn your ear to listen to me, and set me free. Be my rock of safety where I can always hide. Give the order to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. Psalm 71:1-3 (NLT)