In the Eye of the Storm
Acts 27:13-44
There is no doubt that many of us have had a few bad days. Life just happens and we get swept up into it and before we know it we have to deal with some things that are not easy to face. We all expect to go through the every day typical small shower issues of life…but when the storms hit…when we are hit blindside with things that rock our world…then what do we do?
Not many years ago I was asked to speak at something and so I began weeks before trying to prepare topics in my head. What to say…how to say it? I thought about it a lot and prayed a little but nothing came to me. Then the last week arrived and I still did not have a topic and even told the Lord that, “Hey man this is no joking matter, I need to know what to say.” Every time I sat down to read and think and try to put thoughts on the word processor, something would come up that had to be dealt with. One thing after another and one person after another had some issue that they needed help with and so it took me away from preparing my message to folks who would be listening, fixed on every word. Finally, literally the last day, a dear friend of mine, Johnny, showed up at my door at 430am and I let him in. He had been beaten and was drunk and needed someone to help him. “I’m gonna kill myself if I don’t get some help,” my ole drunk buddy told me. I laid him on the couch and covered him and told him that we would talk in the morning.
My plan was to get rid of him so that I could work on this incredible message that God wanted me to share with people. I went to bed still trying to work out a deal with God that he should give me a topic and some ideas about the message. I couldn’t fall asleep from thinking about it so much until I woke a few hours later…surprised I’d slept, but the first thing in my mind was…"What am I going to preach about?" I went in the den and smelled my friend before I saw him and walked on into the kitchen to make some strong coffee and breakfast. After breakfast I made a few calls and found out that if someone is suicidal that the hospital can’t turn them away. I made a plan.
After breakfast, Johnny and I sat and talked about his options…they were…#1. You can’t stay here. #2. You can’t stay here. And #3. You definitely can’t stay here and I gotta get you to the hospital where you can receive the help you need to survive.
Not many minutes later, as I was helping Johnny into the truck I was thinking, “This is taking all my time and here I am going to the hospital with him while I got a message to prepare and I have no clue what to share…this stinks.” I got in, slammed the door and leaned Johnny against his door. Not many minutes later we pulled into the emergency entrance of McLeod and I said, “OK buddy, this is it. We gotta go in there.” He said, “I can’t go in there Wick, they aint gonna help me.” I said, “Johnny, they have to help you. You tell them what you told me, that you are gonna kill yourself if you can’t get any help.” I went around and opened his door and we walked into that place looking like two drunken sailors. The big receptionist looked at us and asked me, “How can I help you?” I motioned with my eyes and said, “My friend needs help.” She looked at him and in the sweetest voice asked Johnny, “How can I help you baby?” He told the receptionist that he was suicidal. She looked at me and said, “We can take it from here.” I looked at Johnny, sat down with him for a second and prayed with him and then I left him there, sitting in a plastic chair and he leaned his head against the wall.
While rushing out to my truck and jumping in to go and prepare a message, that I hoped would be worth hearing, I told the Lord again how disappointed I was that he had not given me any clues as to what to speak on with the upcoming church. I cranked the truck and fussed at God again. That’s when He hit me between the eyes, like only He can. It went something like this.
“But for the grace of God, there go you.” I swallowed hard and understood not having to hear Him say it twice but he wasn’t finished. He spoke again to my spirit, “And when I sent this problem your way, that was me. And when you had to stop your trivial thinking to answer that other need, that was me. And remember the person so distraught over an issue that they have talked about so many times that you just dismissed it so that you could get back to your important speaking engagement planning…that was me in all of that.” I had tears in my eyes by now and understood that all these storms in other peoples lives may not have seemed big or scary or important to me, but they were storms to them, none the less.
I got back to my desk and my thoughts and words began to flow. I was able to remember the very recent things that had come up from folks that needed counsel or help or a shoulder to lean on and I was able to think through their storms with much less critical eyes. God gave me a message to share. He had me in the middle of his message all the time. God has a way of working through storms.
Vs.17 says... "They passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together."
Have you ever wondered if you were going to be able to hold it together? Do you remember when it seemed so bad that you wondered if you were going to make it?
Job 40:6... Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm.
We have hope because even in the worst of storms…God speaks.
We might not see it just yet because of our storm…but daylight is coming.
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