Storms

In all likelihood there is not one person reading this that has not seen The Wizard of Oz at least once. The movie starts out calmly enough with the usual troubles of a young teen age farm girl in mid‑twentieth century Kansas. Early on, one of the all time movie understatements is uttered when one of the cast members say something to the effect of: “There is a storm brewing.”

A tornado being called a “storm?” That's like the captain of the Titanic saying: “Looks like we're taking on a little water.”

Dorothy was about to see her entire world changed. She was about to go on a ride that no one else has ever been on, before or since. She was about to have it pointed out in very clear fashion that her home life was not as bad as she thought. Her journey down the yellow brick road was fraught with the unexpected. She sees the strangest creatures, experiences the strangest events, feels the strangest sensations and all because of . . . a storm.

The real shock comes in the last scene. That is when the audience is let in on what Dorothy never comes to fully believe. Oz never existed. It was only in her mind. She was just dreaming as the result of a blow to the head during the “storm.”

What you have are the two conflicting accounts of this experience. In one she is in the strange and yet wonderful land of Oz. In another, she is lying unconscious on a bed. But there is a similarity. In both of the accounts, her world is changed by the “storm.” She is never to be the same again after this one event.

We can be like that. The Lord has brought many a Christian into a “storm” and thereby altered that Christian . . . permanently.

That occurred to twelve men about two thousand years ago as well. In the Bible in the book of Mark chapter 4 we have the account. After a full day of serving others, Jesus decides they are going to cross the Sea of Galilee. The disciples go about their job of rowing across. Jesus takes a much needed nap, albeit a brief one. At that point in the narrative Mark says a “furious squall” came up. It must have been one more storm. Many of these men were fishermen. They had seen unexpected storms numerous times in their past. But somehow this one was different.

Jesus is summoned from the land of the sleeping, only to rebuke the wind and waves, and end the storm. He turns and rebukes the disciples as well and then as far as we know went back to His nap. Leaving the disciples to question themselves, and their faith.

Do you see the resemblance between Dorothy and the disciples? Both of them had their lives changed forever by a storm.

A few blogs ago, I wrote about “rain.” Rain represents the steady onslaught of trouble that hits us periodically. It seems unrelenting. At times, it is.

Storms are usually brief but much more intense. Rain takes a little time to finally get to you. It can be a major source of discouragement. But it gradually creeps up on you. You become “depressed” without even realizing it. Storms on the other hand, knock you completely off of your feet in seconds. They send you for a loop that takes the same amount of time as rain; only with the storm those hours are spent in recovery.

Some of you are in storms this very minute. It could be the storm of divorce, the storm of loneliness, the storm of financial struggle, the storm of business struggles, or even the storm of spiritual turmoil as you seek to evaluate your relationship with Jesus Christ. You may doubt the existence of your faith or the reality of its impact in your life.

It will change you. One way or another, it WILL change you. It is up to you to determine HOW it will change you. You can become bitter and cynical, or you could become strong and more resolved to stand firm with the Lord. It is your choice. But one thing is dead certain. You will not be unaffected by the storms or the rain in your life. The disciples weren't and neither will we. Not the rain. Not the storms. Especially the storms.