Through the Storm

A storm exploded in the little valley.  Thunder and lightning erupted in the sky.  Then the rain came, as if the skies had opened and the water poured down.  In the little village, a small little praying mantis observed all that was going on, folded its little hands as praying mantis tend to do, and sat on a decrepit old leaf.  All around him the other bugs and insects looked on in confusion.  Why was he sitting there?  What was the point? Why was he not in a panic like everyone else, looking to stop the rain or run from it?

 Soon the water around the little village began to rise.  It came slowly at first, seeping up almost as if it came from the ground.  Still the little praying mantis kept his hands folded and sat on the leaf.  His neighbors asked him why he bothered.  What was the point?  He was a fool to sit on a leaf that was dried out, old and completely pointless.

All around him the others scurried for protection. As the water rose, so did their fear and anger.  What were they to do?  Their anxiety was nearly more than they could bear. It almost made them angry that the silly praying mantis appeared to be calmly sitting on his leaf.  It was old and stiff, brown with age and it even had some holes in it.  

At first as the rain pelted down, water ran off the leaf and soaked into the ground.  But slowly and surely the water began to rise around him too.  It didn’t take long and that little praying mantis began to float away on his little leaf.  Flimsy and seemingly useless, it rose effortlessly on the water and with it, so did the little mantis.  To be honest, he didn’t see much around him as he was hanging on for dear life to the leaf.  The others that had felt he was stupid for praying, weak for counting on his useless old leaf saw him floating in the midst of the storm.  He still bobbed and weaved over the torrent of water.  Still hung on for dear life as he was afraid of the peril he was in.  The flashes of lightening were terrifying.  The tossing to and fro on the water often almost knocked him off the leaf, so he clung on even more.  Through the storm, he managed to float above the deadly waters.  Through the storm, he had a lifeline that kept him safe.  Through the storm.  Not around it.  Not above it or far from it, but right through the middle.  

Friends, I see a storm all around us. The world seems to have become topsy turvey.  There is upheaval on a political front. Nature is in disarray. Society seems have fallen apart. It is as if all we have known to be right is being destroyed. We race from one disaster and storm to another.  

Recently, I met a little old lady at the doctor’s office.  She was in her early 90’s, dressed to the 9’s and sharp as a whip.  We started chatting.  She held up the newspaper she was reading and kind of shook it at me.  “What’s this world coming to?” she asked. The Bible describes where the world is headed.  The term “birth pangs” are used to tell of the pain and suffering experienced prior to Jesus’ return.  That is what the world is coming to. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17 gives insight into what this world is like when the son of destruction is revealed. 

Those in our communities are well aware that something has changed; that we are in the midst of a storm.  So many are overwhelmed, ready to give up. 

A friend recently shared, “I just don’t want to live in this world anymore. Everything is mixed up.  I don’t recognize anything anymore.”  It’s hard not to feel the fear and pain in that statement. It is painful to witness the lack of hope that so many around us face. How would you withstand all that is going on without the hope of Heaven? On the days that you see what is happening and feel that you don’t want to live in this world anymore, what would you do if you didn’t know that God was with you and that this is but for a time? Where would you be without the sustaining power of prayer and the promises of the Bible?  

I’ve been told by many friends that don’t believe in God that Christians use God as a crutch: That real strength is in counting on yourself; that the Bible is full of contradictions and can’t be counted on. Much like the other bugs scoffed at the old, dried out leaf that the Praying Mantis clung to, people fail to see the value of what a relationship with Jesus can bring. They mock those that rely on the power of Jesus. But like the praying mantis, Christians know that through the storm, there is a peace and calm that can only come from clinging to the one who is able to say, “Peace be still.” While the storm will still rage on around us, as we are promised that it will, you have a life raft in Jesus; a shelter in the time of storm. The Bible is full of promises to keep you calm in the midst of danger and strife.  Your relationship with Jesus is the strength you can cling to in the uncertainty we face. You have a savior that you can count on as you ride through the storm.