Stormed by love

Yes I’m taking on the Pablo whirlwind. And yes this one is about storms.

Thank God for my ipad, my wife and I were kept sane for over two nights of city wide black outs. We managed to nibble on podcasts and e-books. Incidentally while the wind was howling outside, I was reading on Luke’s account of a storm at sea involving Paul and several others. The story begins at Acts 27:13 where Paul and some men were caught in a terrible storm while they were in their grain carrying vessel.

I think the worst place to be in at the height of a deadly storm is in the middle of the ocean. I’ve been living in Dumaguete for ten years now and the feel of a real storm is something that’s foreign to me. That changed when my wife and I went to Boracay January of 2011. Out of sheer stubbornness and faked guts I asked our boater to bring us to the neighboring Carabao Island amidst repeated warnings by the local coast guard. So off we went and the horror was indescribable as much as it was undesirable. Our small boat was pelted on all sides with huge waves. As another wave came, it lifted our boat to not less than 8 feet up before it glides down some 60 degrees in angle. I’ve never been that scared my entire life. My prayer life was rejuvenated that hour.

Paul and a company of more than 200 men were on the same situation but theirs was going on for days. I’m a poor storyteller so just read the account and use your imagination. What I would just want to highlight was what he did in Acts 27:35. Bible says in the middle of the storm, Paul: took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. Further study wouldn’t suggest that Paul took communion.  But reading the verse and knowing the context of it, I can’t help but think of the Lord’s supper. It reminds me that in the middle of any storm we should be reminded of what Jesus has done for us. Sometimes rust sets in that’s why we  tend to forget. We are brought to the thrill of our life to dust us off and remind us of the fundamentals of our faith.

That story may not directly talk about Paul having communion but know that every page of the Bible will always give you an undertone of the gospel if you are consciously looking at it in with a gospel lens. It is when you do this that the undertones become overtones. Communion reminds us that Jesus’ body was broken and his blood was shed on the cross for you and me. It reminds us of the infinite, unending, indescribable, unfathomable, unrelenting, undying love of God for us.

It is my prayer that when you face storms of any kind in your life, God’s grace will abound all the more as you are reminded of what He has done for you. Remember, the love of God cannot be tamed, the love of God can silence your storm.