July Bible Journaling: Jesus is the shelter in the storm

 Happy July all!  Hope that you are staying cool today at 615PM cdt it is 97 with the index of 122

This months theme is Jesus is the shelter in the storm

Week 1  

2 Corinthians 4:8-9  8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 

 when we are perplexed there is no need for despair; even if we are persecuted we will NEVER be abandoned by HIM; when struck down, we will not be destroyed.  [Life is a journey with different seasons, growth, times of fruitfulness, times of hardship and storms. ]

{We are not immune to storms of life}  we have all experienced: waves of storms that  threatened to drown our peace >hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted, struckdown, the storms and waves of life.

PROMISES

*God is our faithful comforter.  He will be with us during the storms of life and in times of need,  HE can calm the storms in our lives more often than not.  Seems, like He helps us through them.  Either way, He always keeps us safe in Him!  We are not crushed, despair will not over take us.  We will NEVER be abandoned or destroyed.  {GOOD NEWS:  STORMS DO NOT LAST FOREVER} all though we all face various storms /troubles in life we can  ALWAYS hold onto this promise:  GOD IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL and he is always present with us.  REMEMBER, we get peace knowing He is always with us.  He encourages us to always put our trust in Him when things get unshaken and we feel uncertain.

We all will learn about REFUGE, SHELTER, STRENGTH, SAFETY in any of life's storms.  He is present with us no matter the season.  All though we go through storms His hand is a buffer; it is a protection that will keep us from being destroyed by the storm.

Week 2 Matthew 8:26  He *said to them, "why are you afraid, you men of little faith?"  Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.

Jesus rebukes the wind and sea with just His voice and brings a calming over the raging storm.  Before Jesus did this miracle; He asked His disciples this thought provoking question, Why are you afraid?  Ye, me of little faith? * This invites us to reflect on our own faith and fears that plague our lives.

Jesus recognized the disciples lack of faith yet instead of condemning them He instead invitingly and lovingly to trust Him.  In much the same way that Jesus extends his invitation to us, he wants us to have faith in Him and to place our trust in His power and authority and yest essential to knowledge that journey of faith is not always easy.  We come through storms, doubts, fear, uncertainties that arises sometimes threatens and engulfs us in their ways, but yet, just like the disciples when we find ourselves amidst these storms feeling overwhelmed and helpless, we have the invitation of where to turn.  Sometimes the waves of challenges crashes in on us leaving us feeling powerless.  It is precisely in that moment that Jesus invites us to have faith in him.

When Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves, He demonstrated His power over the forces of nature and shows us in a tangible way that nothing is beyond His control.  Same way that Jesus desires to reveal His authority over the storms in our own lives.   He wants to bring us peace, calmness from all the chaos that we are experiencing.   How do we cultivate and strengthen our faith in Jesus?

1.  Spend time with him in prayer and studying His word.  Through prayer we connect with him as our father, protector, we find comfort in his presence and learn to know who he is.  We will discover His promises, teachings, faithfulness all through history.

2.  Surrender our fears and anxieties to Him.  Jesus, understands our fears and He is ready to carry our fears and burdens if we will allow him.  He longs to replace our anxiety with His peace and fill us with His strength.  We have to turn it  ALL over to Him.

3.  Faith grows through experience.  As we encounter various trials and challenges than we witness first hand how Jesus, sustains us and delivers us in each storm we weather, becomes an opportunity for our faith to mature and for us to recognize Jesus powers working in our lives.  This is especially powerful when we go back and revisit the truths we have written down when we are going through hard times.

God, is the only one who has authority in the storms, both in nature and in our hearts.  When we place our faith in Him we can be assured that He will calm the winds and the waves and bring peace to our hearts.