The Eye of the Storm…
Luke 21:34-35 “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.
In Texas, living close to the Gulf, we know storms! As the National Weather Service watches for, names them and then predicts their path, we Texans, known for our Southern Hospitality, graciously prepare for their visit. Should they leave their memory behind, we give them a scrapbook page(s) in our hearts. We remember… we compare… we learn… and some of us even look forward to the next one so we can put all of this into practice!
Though it isn’t hurricane season (that day), I was reminded of them this weekend as the main focus of an encourager (like a trap).
Storms happen… it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth
As an encourager, I tend to automatically turn into a storm tracker! Encouragers willingly and immediately enter into the storms in our own lives and the lives of others. Sometimes we are given the position of prepping to minimize potential damage, and sometimes our job is just the witnessing of and/or recording the witness statements of the storm’s approach and results. (I find this the hardest job for ME to do – because it requires me to JUST LISTEN)
Encouragers are always watching to see whom the storm chooses as it’s landfall. We are gauging the strength and assigning the category. We are searching our memories for the dos and don’ts of past similar storms we have encountered.
And then… ready or not… encouragers enter the storm!
But storms are such heady stuff! And I entered this weekend’s storm without Ephesians 6:13-17 taking up the full armor of God, so that (I would) be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded (my) loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod (my) feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which (I would) be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. I know storms are always possible but I thought the worst it could be was JUST rain showers. It was not until the EYE was passing over, that I knew I might be a bloody mess when the rest of the storm finished it’s journey.
The eye… the calm… so calm one might think the crisis is over… except for the green tint of the sky!
Because everyone is tired and weary, and blind to the sky, the temptation is to assume the threat is over and we can RETURN to what we were doing before!
Storm Chasers know… the worst may be yet to come! And encouragers know too… Luke 11:24-26 “When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”
God certainly does not CAUSE the storms of our lives, our enemy does that (the unclean spirits). God does USE the storms in our lives to sweep them clean and put them in order – His order!
And we must… celebrate and occupy the results God works in our lives through the storms. Philippians 2:13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure… all the way through the storm
In the eye of the storm… the enemy comes to “see” what his storm has accomplished. He is not surprised to find it swept clean and in order – he would expect no different from the Abba of this household.
As an encourager, we know that our enemy is no quitter (even when we are). We know that in the eye (the place of perceived calm) he will seek to find a way back in… perhaps the windows and doors were unboarded at the first sign of the storm passing… perhaps no one is home guarding it. No one that can and will lift the shield of the faith to extinguish the flaming arrows targeting the boundaries or someone who will take and use the Sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God) which cuts/cleanses the inside and outside holes of our understanding of God’s thoughts and ways.
As an encourager, we know that the worst is yet to come if we fail to go all the way through the storm. But as an encourager, I forget that our enemy is always looking to devour (even with rain showers). I sometimes forget the weariness of the war and the heaviness of the armor. I forget the pain of the wounds and I forget that even though we all can be warriors, we are all children…
Even as encouragers… we have lashed out and slapped the hand of the one sent to help us. We’ve blamed the wrong person and given the accuser of the brethren a pass. We’ve thrown our own tantrums and sent away our real help in times of trouble and sometimes even thrown the rubble of our lives after them. Even though I have done these things in my childish rage, I admit I am always shocked and confused and hurt when my attempts to encouraged are not just refused but thrown back in my face as “making things worse”.
I know I am not perfect and I certainly say and do the wrong thing(s) on a daily basis. But God does not allow me (even when I beg Him) to turn tail and run nor does He allow me to put the gift of encouragement in a box and leave it on the shelf. He trains me up… in forgiveness of sibling rivalry… He calls on me to build muscles of forgiveness, lifting the weights 70 X 7… He trains me to hear Him even when no one else is listening. He reminds me that the victory is not my responsibility, He has already won and in His time all will be revealed!
What’s a wounded encourager to do? When the storm I am encouraging in becomes a storm of hurt and rejection in my own life…
I remember… Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
And then… I… Ephesians 6:18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
Because I know that… God… Ezekiel 22:30… searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it…
Encouragers… this… building up the wall and standing in the gap… is the gift God has given and is now searching for the man/woman using it. This is the gift of encouragement.
Let us find Him… let Him find us… encouraging each other in the eye of the storm!
**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible