Storm’s Urge

A few weeks ago when the storm Harvey was approaching the states, I began to toy with the idea of God’s love being like a hurricane.  But then it hit and we watched for days the devastation and I thought, “How can I liken that to Jesus?”

But as Irma approached our city, the idea stayed with me and as God would have it, I was preparing several worship sets for some upcoming devos.  I came across two songs that spoke to me.  One was FIERCE by Jesus Culture: 

Like a tidal wave
Crashing over me
Rushing in to meet me here
Your love is fierce
Like a hurricane
That I can’t escape
Tearing through the atmosphere
Your love is fierce

And I also was led to the beautiful HOW HE LOVES by the David Crowder Band with this verse:

He is jealous for me, loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy

So maybe I wasn’t the only one thinking along these lines.  Then I listened to SO WILL I by Hillsong United. Two lines stopped me in my tracks.

 I can see Your heart in everything You’ve made……If it all reveals Your nature, so will I.

Every created thing was created by God. And so it struck me that all of nature reveals God’s nature—including the wind and the waves.  I sat down at my computer, and this is what he showed me…

There’s been an awful lot of talk about hurricanes in the past few weeks. We knew it was coming, but we were unsure of the exact day and time it would hit. It seems the only real question was, “Where will you be when it passes by?”

This most recent storm was unprecedented—more forceful, more awesome than anything this world has seen. There isn’t even a number on our scale that could adequately convey power of this storm. We all watched as it approached.  How many hours did we spend studying the dot, after dot, after dot that was placed to mark its track?

We paid attention because we knew that once this storm passed, the landscape would never be the same.  The people who encountered it would never be the same. You can’t experience that kind of force and remain unchanged because when heaven invades earth, there is a change in the atmosphere.

This storm was so big, that there was not a single resident of the state that was not affected when it came through. Everyone was touched—some in the most outer bands only got a little wind, others felt a greater impact. What determined how much of the power you felt, was how close your home was to the center. The closer you were, the deeper the impact.

A lot of people avoided the storm. They had no desire to experience it, so they grabbed all that they consider valuable and turned from it. That’s understandable, because it can be uncomfortable to have debris stirred up and buildings come down.

So they piled onto the interstates and there was a steady flow headed in one direction.  The need was so great that in some places, they reversed the direction of the southbound lanes.  A path that had been created to flow one way began to move in the other direction at the behest of the people.

But there were a select few who were set apart from the crowd, and did not follow the people. The storm chasers and reporters knew that in order to experience the full impact of the storm, they needed to intentionally position themselves at the center of the storm. And so when it seemed that the whole world was going in one direction, they went in the opposite. They had a personal experience with a great force, and then they reported it to anyone who would listen.

And as I began to ponder on the storm and all of its effects, I realized that the power of Jesus’ love is a lot like a hurricane.  When Jesus comes on the scene, He changes the atmosphere.  Debris gets stirred up.  And walls come down.

If we read through the gospels, we can track Jesus’ movements much like that of the recent storm.  Just a short read of a few chapters in Mark, and you can place dot after dot mapping out Jesus’ trek.

Mark 5:1 places Jesus on the edge of a lake, and then he crosses over to the other side. In verse 21, he comes back to this side of the lake.  From there,he moved along to his home town, and then Mark 6:6 says that he went “from village to village.”  Dot. Dot. Dot.

And without the benefit of social media, Doppler radar, or a single TV news report, people were tracking Jesus. They knew where He was headed. They heard he was coming, and they prepared. They purposely positioned themselves in front of him in order to get the full impact of his passing by.

Jairus literally fell in front Jesus, at his feet. “Come heal my daughter,” he pleaded.

And there were so many others.

The short guys climbed trees.

The blind guys yelled.

The paralyzed ones were lowered through a roof.

Then there was the woman with the issue of blood. Her condition made her unclean and she was ostracized, shunned by her community. She lived in the outer bands of society, but she knew that she needed to be in the center of Jesus’ path to reap the full benefit of an encounter with him. Despite being buffeted by the winds of rejection, she pushed her way through the crowd just so she could touch the hem of his robe. And immediately, the landscape of her life changed. The Storm stopped in his tracks, looked her right in the eye, and called her daughter. The only place in scripture where he does that.

The whole nation has been talking about Irma. And the entire region was talking about Jesus.

Mark 6:53 says that “people recognized Jesus. They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.”

These were the Jim Cantores of biblical times, positioning themselves for full impact.

“And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

The blind can see

The deaf can hear.

Limps are strengthened.

Demons are cast.

Bent is made straight.

Dirty is made clean.

When we center our lives around Jesus, he is our center. And you know what you find at the center of the hurricane?  Peace.  The very center—the eye—is the most calm, the most serene, clear and bright place you can possibly imagine. Despite the chaos of hurricane force winds all around, there is perfect peace amidst the storm when we are centered on Jesus.

The most life altering aspect of a powerful hurricane is the storm surge. The ocean is driven by the winds and pushed onto the land, clearing anything in its path. The water is relentless, refusing to be stopped and filling in every roadway, alley and ditch. Debris is pushed aside. Much the same way, God’s love covers all the dry places. It seeps into every opening, filling cracks and crevices that you didn’t even know existed. God’s love is relentless, and nothing can hinder its path.

You know another fascinating fact about hurricanes?  They are only on earth for a short time, and when that time is up they dissipate into the atmosphere. But after the storm is gone, there are still pockets of incredible power that spin up tornadoes, energized by the same force as the storm.  They follow along its path, continuing rustle up debris and tear down walls. And you know, the tornadoes are never named—they are simply considered an extension of the storm, recognized only for the mark they leave behind.

Just before he ascended into heaven, Jesus spoke with his apostles. Listen to what He says in Mark 16:15 (Message):

 “Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God’s good news to one and all. Whoever believes and is baptized is saved; whoever refuses to believe is damned.

 “These are some of the signs that will accompany believers: They will throw out demons in my name, they will speak in new tongues, they will take snakes in their hands, they will drink poison and not be hurt, they will lay hands on the sick and make them well.”

Friends, we are the unnamed tornadoes. We were created by and are called to follow the the path of Jesus, touching down wherever the Holy Spirit directs. We clear out debris, and we bring down walls. We do it not for our glory, but as a reflection of his awesome love, power and grace. We have the power of the Storm residing within us, the power to change the landscape of the lives around us.

If the wind goes where you send it, so will I.