As I have prayed and asked the Lord how to navigate the days ahead of us, I have heard this one word of instruction: We must learn to live in the eye of the hurricane.
The eye of the hurricane has to be one of the most phenomenal wonders of the world. God speaks a powerful revelation of life itself through this aspect of nature. The Bible says in Psalm 19 that the heavens declare the glory of God. One translation of the Hebrew text reads: The elements declare the glory of God. This is one element that truly expresses something special about God.
How is it possible that in the center of this horrible storm, where the wind can exceed 150 miles per hour, that the atmosphere can be peaceful, calm and even sunny? As the storm moves along the ocean surface, it is picking up energy and growing worse, but the center remains the same.
I find it interesting that the only way you can stay in the center of the storm (in the peace and presence of God), is to keep moving. You can’t just sit. You can’t be passive and comfortable. If you try to maintain your personal space of comfort, you will find yourself caught in the outer perimeter of the storm. The eye of the storm is moving because the storm is moving. So you have to keep moving with the peace of God (the eye of the storm).
Colossians 3:15-16 tells us how to keep moving with God in the midst of the storm.
…And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
This week, let’s talk about letting the peace of God rule. This phrase means, we must be governed and led by the assurance of God Himself. That means He will direct us to go places, meet people, and do things that we may not want to do. So we must learn the difference between the peace of God and the peace of our own hearts and minds.
Sometimes there’s no peace in our mind about doing certain things or going certain places because of our bad memories and our negative experiences. Many people have to learn the difference between their own personal peace and the peace of God.
Since we've been in this role of ministering in this community, we have seen scores of people who are led by their own personal peace. If they don’t feel right about something, they won’t do it, even when God is clearly leading them.
Even after God has clearly proven that it was Him directing their steps, they still allow the past to rule their hearts. They allow previous church experiences to rule their hearts. They allow their personal preferences to rule their hearts. They allow their expectations to rule their hearts. They allow the way others treated them to rule their hearts.
I recently heard a well known television preacher declare that they don’t go places where they are merely TOLERATED, but they only go to places where they are CELEBRATED. That’s a very powerful, but un-scriptural approach to ministry. What happened to OBEDIENCE TO GOD?
I don’t know of any of God’s prophets, apostles, preachers, or leaders who were living by that standard. Not only were most of them not celebrated, but they were hated. We don’t only go where we feel we will personally benefit from the experience. You and I must go wherever God says for us to go.
As the storm is moving, we have to move with the eye of the storm (The peace of God). What if the eye of the storm leads you to people you don’t usually hang out with? That’s what happened to Peter. What if the eye of the storms leads you to work for your enemies? That’s what happened to Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah. What if the eye of the storm leads you to a small group of people instead of mega-church or to some other new gathering of believers (meaning strangers and people you don't know) in your community? What if the peace of God leads you away from all that is familiar and comfortable?
In our earliest days in Harrisburg, a woman joined with us, but she later disclosed that she told God she didn't want to be in a small group because there are too many problems in a small gathering of Christian Believers. Her concerns were not only legitimate, but her worst fears came to pass because most of us did not move with the eye of the storm, and we lost our ship, crew and cargo in our first hurricane. The ministry collapsed miserably. Thankfully, God spared our lives and we were able to regroup and start again.
Even today, as the current storm moves and the peace of God moves, we are facing major decisions on personal and ministry levels again. This time we must be faithful and obedient to move with God in the midst of the storm.
Five years ago, Carol and I left all that was familiar, prosperous and comfortable, to move to this region. Since we've been here, we've continually been required to move with the eye of the storm and remain in the peace and rest of God.
God’s peace led us out of full-time ministry and into the marketplace. God’s peace led us from meeting in a church facilities and into a home group gathering. God’s peace led us onto the internet and into our current multi-media outreach. We recently discovered that God is directing many church-planters in the same strategies around the world because of the storms that are coming forth on this nation, the world and the church.
We have often asked God why we were moving in this direction, since hardly anyone knows about us and we haven’t grown in over three years. But He keeps assuring us that a day will come when people will look for ministries that are lifting up Jesus and not lifting up pastor personalities. They will look for people who are REAL, as they grow weary of their traditions, religion and politics. So we’ll just keep moving with the eye of the storm, in the peace of God.
Right now, many find their jobs threatened, their families in crisis and even some church communities are beginning to waiver in fear. As you could tell from our story, we haven’t escaped storms, either.
So, I encourage you to abandon your fear and just flow with God. He is trustworthy.
So this week, our first ONE CONCERNED FATHER BLOG, the Word for you and I is keep moving with the peace of God.
