He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.– Psalm 107:29. Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked,"What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him. — Matthew 8:26,27
Well, the month of June is here, again. It keeps showing up. When I was younger, June marked the wonderful beginning of the vacation season, the long anticipated ending of the school year and the month in which many engaged couples wanted to marry. But, in recent history in South Florida, June has marked something that is scary.
June is formally the beginning of the hurricane season. And it has already been predicted by expert weather forecasters that 2011 may be a year of above average activity with hurricanes.
Our country has already been hounded and pounded by several disasters of floods and tornadoes and so many feel that the trend of natural trouble will continue. Words and phrases like “weakened El Nino” and “warm-water temperatures” feed into the frenzy and heighten the anxiety, particularly of those persons who live in South Florida.
We are naturally afraid of storms because we know from first-hand experiences the damage storms like hurricanes can cause. Hurricanes also present us with the almost unbearable pain of uncontrolled inconvenience. So, we brace ourselves each year for the “noise” that accompanies storm activity: television
news flashes, radio announcements, advertisements, clinging shutters, generator checks, the sound of saws cutting trees and shrubbery — here noise, there noise, almost everywhere there is noise, noise.
And the noise does not stop for nearly six months. And why does everything have to be so loud?
Dr. Katurah Hall, professor of psychology at the University of South Florida, found and recorded in a book, Think on These Things, the true story of Daniel Sullivan, who made a name for himself in 19th century England by taming horses that had become vicious and uncontrollable. Sullivan was observed engaging in what seemed to be quiet face-to-face conversations with the troubled horses. He seemed to be whispering words to them that only they understood and which magically calmed them. Observers inquired among themselves, “Who is this man?” Sullivan became known as the “horse whisperer.”
Well, in the Scriptures, Jesus was asleep on the boat with his disciples when a storm threatened to take the vessel under. In panic, the disciples called out to Jesus, saying, “Don’t you care if we drown?” Jesus spoke to the storm and the winds and the waves obeyed him.
The Lord is in charge of all storms, both natural and spiritual. So, when the spiritual storms of life are raging year-round, viciously and uncontrollably in your life, the Spirit of the Omnipotent who abides in you will also respond to your cry. Just call on Jesus. He will speak to your storms. And they will obey.
It doesn’t matter what your storm’s name is — Hurricane Anxiety, Hurricane Brown’s Syndrome, Hurricane Cancer, Hurricane Disappointment, Hurricane Error, Hurricane Failure, Hurricane Gloom or Hurricane Hurt. Jesus can calm your sea and quiet your storm.
What manner of man is this that even the winds and waves obey him? He is Jesus, our storm whisperer.
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