Storm Clouds Bring….Mercy or Judgment?

Here at the beaches of South Carolina, it is not unusual to see a storm pop up out of seemingly no where in the afternoons. One moment, you are looking at the bluest sky you've ever seen and just a few minutes later, you might be running for cover from the torrential rain and lightning.

The same can be said of life…One minute all is well; then out of no where, the storm clouds gather and the rains begin to fall. In the Bible, Job definitely experienced this phenomenon of life…and though perplexed and dismayed at the circumstances that had befallen him and his family, he still trusted in God. I'm sure that as he saw the storm clouds gathering over his life, he asked himself the words found in Job 37:13, "He brings the clouds to punish men, or to water his earth and show His love."

How do you view the storm clouds of your life? Is God setting up a time of judgment as He seeks to correct and discipline a child gone astray…simply allowing the conditions of life to help you determine if you are walking in His will or going it as "the Lone Ranger."

You see, the clouds may be filled with torrential rains that are meant to drive you to the shelter of the loving arms of a jealous God that wants you to worship and adore Him only. He needs to help you see that you are lost and in need of a Savior… and once committed to His Son, the clouds come to grow you in worship of your Creator. It is not the clouds that matter, it is the relationship that you have with Him when the clouds come that matters MOST. Some people use the adversity in their life to be drawn ever closer to God…to experience His MERCY in the midst of the trials that beset us all.

Others see the storm clouds and the torrential rains as God's judgment and lack of love. After all, how could a loving God allow this tribulation to so encompass and incapacitate them…such adversity shines a true light on their faith and they quickly fall away…they want nothing to do with a God that lets them suffer.

Oh, but the true believer, one whose heart is right and longs for the fellowship of God the Father, understands that the storms may come to bring refreshing…a time when they run into the arms of Jesus and feel the radiant warmth of His love and compassion…for Jesus suffered as we so that He might ask of God the Father to show His tender mercy to each of us.

So, let the storm clouds come!

But, let your response be one that drives you into His presence as you seek to know Him more deeply and to worship Him more passionately than ever before…don't run for cover; rather look to the skies and see that the clouds will soon pass by, thus reveling the glorious light of the Father who waters His earth to show His love…His ever abundant love for you and a mercy that endures forever!

Lingering under the storm clouds…driven into the arms of my Savior,

WPQ