Hurricane Matthew

Hurricane Matthew is bearing down on the east cost of the United States.  It is currently a Category 3 hurricane, which means it isn't the biggest hurricane ever, or likely to cause the kind of devastation that Hurricane Andrew or Katrina did in the past, but it is still really big and is bringing high winds and lots of rain. 

When Matthew comes to call, Floridians get just a little nervous...

Of course, we can follow the constant predictions about the exact path Matthew will take and where he will head back out into the Atlantic.  I suppose that those predictions make us feel a little more in control of the situation.  At the same time, there is a big difference between predicting a storm's path and actually controlling a hurricane.

Thirteen years ago, my wife and I were out driving on a day when we probably should have been at home in our basement.  I remember the slate gray, almost yellowish sky as we stopped at a traffic light and then suddenly, the wind began to whip up.

It must have been a tiny tornado that touched down at that intersection, because our vehicle was rocking back and forth with the wind.  Then, something hit our rear window and it exploded inward, exposing our ears to the roar of the wind.  The transformer on the pole beside us blew, sending a shower of sparks out in all directions.

Elaine cried out in that moment, "God, save us!"  Just that fast, the wind was gone, leaving behind two very shaken people to drive (a very noisy) trip back to Paoli.

We work very hard to give ourselves control over the events in life we face.  I am afraid that quite often that control is merely an illusion.  In our hearts, we know that things are way too big for our control.  Certainly the weather is beyond our control, but there are a lot of bigger and more serious things than that in life that we don't control either.

What then?

Two thousand years ago, a small group of men were rowing out on the Sea of Galilee.  It was a time before Doppler radar and GPS devices, a time long before out board motors and in the middle of their journey, a storm blew up.

Waves rocked the tiny vessel and the winds tugged at it.  In the boat, the men struggled on in a losing battle, realizing that at any moment their ship would capsize and they would all die.

It was in this moment that they turned to a man who was asleep in the middle of the ship.  His name was Jesus.  "Teacher,"  they shouted at him.  "Do you not care that we are perishing?"

I imagine that they hoped that he would help row, or bail water -- do any of the normal futile things humans in a tiny boat do when they are in danger.  He did none of those things.

Instead, in that moment, Jesus woke up and calmed the sea and rebuked the storm.

And all was still.

It is far better to know the One who is in control of every situation than to try to fool ourselves that we are in control.  It is even more sad that we usually wait for that crazy moment right before everything falls apart in chaos to cry out, "Jesus, save me!"

Even then, He is faithful and will do just that.

Far better to trust Him from the very beginning.