Chased by the Storm

Sunday was a stormy day.

Dom and I had expected to go for a ride but it started to rain in the morning.

Dom and I waiting for the storm to let up.

The sun came out in the afternoon so we took our chances and rode to a public beach about a half an hour away. 

Then the sky grew dark and we realized there was an angry cloud between us and home to the east of us and it seemed to be getting larger by the minute.

We started down a gravel road hoping to skirt the storm and race ahead of it.  As we went down that road the sun disappeared, the wind picked up, the temperature dropped and we started to get hit with large drops of rain.  We turned around and amazingly broke free of the storm.  We went further south and then tried another road to the east of us.

This road had potential!

We were right on the fringe of the storm and could see lightning to the left of us and in front of us, we could also see curtains of rain gradually making their way across our line of sight.  Dom kept us moving eastward, taking any southern roads that took us where we wanted to go.

At one point we were caught.  The storm came over us from the left side and pelted us with rain and wind.  We just had to get to the next turn-off and we would be moving southward on the final stretch!  We made it and raced in front of the storm!

In the rear-view mirrors I couldn't see anything behind me, just a haze of rain, but we stayed relatively dry up until arriving at home.  It was barely a minute after we were inside the house when the rain reached us.

I believe most of us would try to avoid a storm like that and find it a success if we got home safely without getting wet - especially on motorcycles.  But sometimes we can't avoid storms in life and if we're not prepared for them when they hit, we suffer.

In the Old Testament Daniel and his two friends headed straight into a storm when they decided to not bow to King Nebuchadnezzar's image, giving glory to God even when it meant they would be given the death penalty and thrown into a furnace (Daniel 3). The King even gave them a second chance to bow down and he'd forget about their rebellion.  They didn't take it.

So they were thrown into the furnace and the people that threw them in died of the heat.  But Daniel and his two friends were fine.  The King and his servants saw a fourth man with Daniel and his friends.  They said that 'the appearance of the fourth was like a son of the gods.' (Daniel 3:25). 

That's what we need to remember.  God is present with us as we go through the storms of life.  And when we focus on Him the storm doesn't seem as great.  It doesn't mean the storm will end, it just means we can face it with Someone who is greater than it.

Daniel and his friends stayed in that furnace with God until the King called them out.  They didn't try to escape the furnace.  They stayed with God in the furnace.  When they did come out 'the fire had no effect on their bodies, nor was the hair of their head singed, nor their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come on them.' (Daniel 3:27)  We need to realize that it is better to be in a storm with God than try to escape the storm without God.  He will always be greater than the storm.

Spatial Awareness & Context

About a week ago when Dom and I were out on a ride, we had an experience with three tweens on bicycles.

We were in a residential area but still on a main road that had traffic.  These three young people were in the opposing lane of traffic right in front of a blind curve.  This alone would be dangerous for them, however, one of the three decided to move over into our lane.  Now they were all over the road.  Dom had passed them without any problems and I was coming through.  That was when one young girl decided it was time for her to casually go in front of me without looking.  I mean... I'm making a lot of noise!  Anyway, I slowed down and she decided to go back into the opposing lane just as casually.  I got past them without any issues but it left me shaking my head.

Now I know I shouldn't be the one to talk about spatial awareness...I am known to cut off people in grocery stores...but there's a limit.  These tweens had two problems.  They didn't have spatial awareness of what was around them, but they also didn't understand or blatantly refused to follow the context that they were in, that being the rules of the road.  Sadly, they probably will continue to have issues with these two problems until someone gets hurt.

In the same vein, we as Christians need to be spatially aware and understand the context we are in or our faith will be hurt.  We need to be spatially aware of the dangers around us that would hinder our faith or even cause us to sin.  Just blindly going where we please shows we don't respect the Will of God or the Word of God and will cause us to be on a collision course with something that could cause us pain.  Just because we don't see it coming doesn't mean we are safe.  God gave us His Word for a reason and we shouldn't ignore it.

We also need to understand the context of our life, that we are Sons and Daughters of God that are here for His purposes in a world that doesn't accept God's truths.  We don't go to the world for help as there isn't any help there.  We go to Jesus, because He has given us a way to be saved and provided promises for us to live by that give us a full picture of who we are in Him.  Acts 4:11-12 says "This Jesus is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved."  If the world rejects Jesus, that means it has also rejected the only way to be saved and doesn't understand the context of life.

Are you spatially aware of the dangers and pitfalls around you?  How do you stay aware and awake as you go through your day?  Do you see a difference in how you live from understanding Jesus' sacrifice for you?  How does knowing the full picture help you?

Philippians 2:12-16
"Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.  Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life"