Restoration: After the Storms Hit
There was a reason why beaches along the east coast were empty of development for so long. Just 40 years ago, my dad lived around the outer banks of North Carolina. He told me that no one wanted the beachfront property and could’ve gone in with ten thousand dollars at the time, acquiring a few lots. Such land now is highly desired and fetches millions of dollars.
Part of the reason why it was so cheap at the time and no one had built on them, is that there was no way to predict a hurricane coming. When it did it came with very little warning and it could wipe everything out with ease.
Life’s disasters are a lot like that… they often come at you without notice and can potentially be devastating! Other times you may see the storm coming, but you feel there’s little you can do. In reality, we make the choice on how we deal with disasters.
Back when Hurricane Hugo hit, we had some family friends of ours that had a stilt house in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina right on the water. The week before the storm came through, they had just outfitted the place with brand new furniture.
Later, the storm swept the area and lifted the house off the ground, throwing it down the street in pieces. Nothing was salvageable!
Now they could have thrown their arms in the air and said “why bother”, taken the insurance money and build somewhere “safer” (much like we do as believers), knowing full well the dangers of living on the coast. Instead, they built the house back even better than it was before on the same lot.
You see, fear of more danger, hardships, and troubles often prevents us from being rebuilt! Adversity is a time for us to become stronger and better in God’s eyes!
No, God is not our “insurance” that comes through, bails us out when we’ve lost it all. Even better, He’s the contractor in waiting, that’s already been paid to rebuild! It’s just a matter of if we’ll let Him do the job He knows how to do, or are we going to pack up, head elsewhere, and try to do it ourselves? (which is shoddy work!)
We know that through this life, storms will come at us… especially as Christian believers. That’s like having beachfront property! Beachfront property is nice, beautiful, and is something to brag about. Yet, it also comes with it’s dangers. Most typically this involves facing the storms that can potentially wreck everything! More important than any of this, is that it’s where God wants us to be!
When you become a believer in Jesus Christ, some may hold the idea that their troubles are now gone and life is going to be all “peachy-keen”. Truth is, as a Christian you are not escaping trouble… you often have to face it!
Why? The enemy does not want us “happy and healthy and prospering” and he’ll throw all the storms he’s got at us to discourage us. Discouragement then leads to doubt and the dilution of our faith in God.
If we were to simply chicken out and run from danger, it’s just like running away from God! The troubles that come at us are opportunities to grow, not to mention be used by the Lord to bless others and ourselves!
The problem is, our carnal eyes simply don’t always view it this way. Instead we only see what’s in front of us and that might look a lot like impending doom with no end to it (which is what the enemy wants us to think!).
Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:34,
“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
When we possess fear for what might happen, we are unknowingly putting a hold on the rebuilding process God can start at anytime. During tough times such as these, know that no matter what happens in your life, it won’t demolish you for good unless you let it!
You can be renewed and built stronger than before… and God can still get the glory, honor, and praise for it!
Amen!
