Life in the Storm

Ephesians 3:14-19 (ESV)14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. [1]
[1] The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society
(Emphasis Mine)
So we are the new people of God. We expected comfort and got a hurricane. Not Ike per say but a storm nonetheless. God wants us to hunger and thirst after more than new toys to distract us, more than superficial friendships that never challenge us, more than the success of this world or the fulfillment of our flesh or the or the enticement of the devil’s schemes. He wants us to hunger and thirst for him.

The unexpected thing we will find in salvation is that God will come. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—
Yes, Jesus is referring in Mark to his return but there is more about the character of God in this. He will show up when we are not expecting it in our lives right now. Since he desires that we desire Him above all things, he may either let us get to the real end of those things we are pursuing which will taste like dust and dung when we grasp them, or he will remove them, even our brilliant but misguided ways we think we will serve him, secretly desiring the glory rest on us for a while. He will show up in places that would cause us to cringe or cause us to hide our faces in shame. He may show up in the words of a faithful friend who shines the light of truth a little too sharply on our anger. He may show up in a way that causes us to fall to the ground as one who is dead like Daniel did or to tremble in fear as Moses did. He may show up at any time and bring us home. Or he may show up now and cause us great discomfort. We are to be awake, watching, listening, perceiving, praying, being filled with the Holy Spirit so we do not miss the voice whether it is a shout or a whisper. God is not content to be the object of our study or even the object of our praise. He wants to be the center and ground of our being. All our work, play, celebration, joy, rest, love, failure, success, and hope are in Him.

He is the storm and the peace. Just as Cornelius Plantinga Jr. reminded me this week, his peace is a peace we are to take into battle. [1]
[1] Cornelius Plantinga Jr.. Beyond Doubt : Faith-Building Devotions on Questions Christians Ask. (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001). Page 207.