"Through the storm, He is Lord"

I wonder if you can relate to these words: “This year’s felt like four seasons of winter, and you’d give anything to feel the sun” (from the song “Reason” by the group “Unspoken”).  I deeply resonate with that sentiment!  I know that uncertainty, anxiety, fear, and stress can easily rear its head right now.  It can be distressing to ponder how words like “pandemic” “social distancing” and even “quarantine” have become commonplace.

Somebody wants to know the answer to this question: where is God in all of this?  He is where He’s always been: on His throne, in sovereign control.  Make no mistake: the coronavirus didn’t catch God by surprise.  The Bible says that God “works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11).  The Bible says, “The Lord has established His throne in Heaven, and His kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19).  It was Pastor Rick Ferguson who said, “Romans 8:28 has not been revoked.”  This would be a good place for an “amen”!

I’ve been re-reading Matt and Beth Redman’s excellent work “Blessed Be Your Name: Worshipping God on the Road Marked with Suffering”.  I have thoroughly enjoyed going through their book again.  At one point, they wrote:

“When trials come, trust must arise.  Where there’s nothing to rock the boat, our trust in God is rarely tested.  Seasons of stillness and calmness are wonderful; yet before too long the winds will start to gather, and we’ll find ourselves caught up once more in the storms of life…We may have faith to believe in God as Lord of the calm – but do we have faith to believe in Him as Lord of the storm?  He is the Lord of both the hurricane and the gentle breeze.  The One who rules and reigns amidst all of the earthquakes of this life – those times when our whole world seems to be shaking and breaking apart.”

That sounds a lot like our time, doesn’t it?  But in these wild, chaotic days, we can look to an incredible God who is worthy of our faith and trust.  In the “Hillsong Worship” song “Cornerstone” we hear these fortifying words: “Through the storm, He is Lord, Lord of all.”  I began with a line from the song “Reason” by “Unspoken”.  It goes on to say, “He’s the peace in the madness that you can’t explain.  He’s the hope in the heartbreak; the rest in the suffering.”  It’s true!  In fact, the Bible says in Ephesians 2:14 that Jesus Himself is our peace.

Kevin