Acts 16;25 ‘And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.’
DAILY READING Mark 11:15-33; 1 Kings 2; Hosea 5:5-15
In a hurricane, there’s something called the “eye of the storm”. This is the center of the hurricane, where it’s very calm and peaceful. All around there may be chaos, winds blowing 150 miles an hour, debris flying all around, danger everywhere. But strangely, despite all this outward mayhem, within the eye of the storm, it’s very calm and peaceful.
When a Hurricane is pounding and bringing catastrophic flooding to a region, one may wonder—where do the birds go in such a storm? Birds are often found in the eye of the hurricane. When they start getting caught up in whipping winds, they naturally move to where there is some calm, and this is the eye of the storm.
There may be times in life, when it seems as if all around you everything is spinning out of control. Trials, temptations, challenges, may seem to surround you, but in the midst of that storm, there is a place of peace where you can go. The Scripture calls it “the peace that passes all understanding.”
It is a place of inexplicable calmness, and joy. It is a place where when you should be stressed, rather you are blessed. It is a place of turning your battle field to a worship field. This is the place where miracles happen. Paul and Silas were surrounded by storm, they were tied up in a prison and soldiers where all around, but when they praised God despite the storm, they were delivered.
In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat certainly had a stormy situation when three mighty nations surrounded him, but when he chose to praise God, the storm was dispersed and he got the victory.
What you need to survive any storm is to have Jesus in your boat. In Mathew 8;23-27, the disciples were surrounded by a storm, they ran to Jesus and said, “Master, wake up! For we perish !” Jesus stood up and simply rebuked the storm. He said, “Peace. Be still.” And instantly, the storm ceased. Though Jesus was in the storm, He knew He had power and authority over it. And because He stayed in peace, He brought peace to the situation.
You can experience peace in any storm, when God is with you. What gives peace in the storm is God’s Presence, and we engage His Presence through praises. It doesn’t matter what surrounds you today, when you can bring God into your situation through praise, you will experience a speedy, forceful turnaround. Certainly as you praise God today, He will give you a definite change of story.
PRAYER: Lord, please help me to always praise You in every situation. No matter what may be happening around me, I know indeed that You are greater than any storm. Thank You Lord for exceeding my expectations in Jesus Name. .
Quote
When God places His hand upon a man in life nothing can come against him, this is because the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. WORDBITE 222