This too will pass…

Expect to have hope rekindled. Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life do not last. The spring rains will come again – Sarah Ban Breathnach

 Key Scriptures – Matt 14:22-34 / Ps 107 (NLT)

We have a wonderful older woman in our Church family – you know, the type that everyone wants to adopt as their own grandma! She’s part of one of the life groups I facilitate, and as a young mum I’ve found her presence, her wisdom and well-chosen words to be such a blessing. On the days where it all feels like it’s unravelling, she graciously reminds us younger ones, that this too will pass, that we will reach the other side of this particular season. There is something so calming about someone further down the path speaking this over you, this universal truth that seasons do and will change. We are spurred on when someone who has navigated their seasons well, encourages us that we can too!

Today, the 1st June, marks the beginning of a new season. We’re entering winter, perhaps you’re lucky enough to be welcoming in Summer! I want to encourage you, that just as the natural seasons change, as they give way to the next cycle, so too will you journey and come through your current season. It will give way to something new, something fresh.

If you are willing to embrace, the stormy and uncertain seasons of your journey – to count it all joy as James tells us – then in the wake of the storm, you will find that some invaluable treasures will have been deposited into your life. Firstly, your faith will have grown.

The disciples had been in an earlier storm, but that time Jesus had been in the boat with them. This time He was stretching them to see how they would respond when they couldn’t see Him with their physical eyes, because He knew a time was coming when He would be physically absent. This time He was removing every human prop and the result was that their faith grew. In the first storm, when Jesus calmed the winds they said, “What kind of man is this?” In the second storm, they cry  ”Truly, You are the Son of God.”

The storms, the challenges and experiences we go through in life will grow our faith; they will cause us to walk in greater revelation of the character and ability of God if we will choose to keep our eyes open and our hearts soft. And revelation in the storms will ultimately lead us to worship.

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshipped Him… This is the first reference in Scripture to the disciples actually worshipping Jesus. Not even when Jesus fed the 5,000 had they worshipped, but now, delivered from their personal storm they worship Him. There is something about what God does in the dark nights of our journey, that causes us to see His glory, to realise His power, that awakens us to truly worship.

He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor! Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. Just like the disciples you will reach the other side, and when you do what a blessing it will be!

You are blessed to be a blessing, Aimee

P.S. Hope you’ve enjoyed our time camping out in Matthew 14 – if you’ve joined us late in the piece, why not start at the beginning with ‘Sometimes we’re Safer in the Storm’

Sunday Psalms – Ps 139

 O Lord, You have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.  They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! - Ps 139 extracts (NLT)   

         

Today I enjoyed the afternoon marveling at the creativity of my beautiful daughter Misha – as we walked along the beach, she collected shells for what I told was going to be our ‘sand art.’ Now I’ve confessed to not being the most talented athlete, but I haven’t yet confessed that drawing and art have never really been my forte! I appreciate them, but it was one of the family genes I missed out on! Misha on the other-hand oozes creativity – forever drawing, crafting, imagining and performing!

As I watched her (I was only allowed to participate when instructed!) create this mermaid, the ‘Sunflower Princess,’ I was taken by her joy in bringing to life, what had obviously been in her mind as we had meandered along the beach. Throughout the process, she corrected little details, repositioning, erasing, sculpting her mermaid until she was satisfied that she was complete, just as she had intended. Truthfully, I was a little sad that we were leaving her for the incoming tide!

I felt the Holy Spirit reminding me that God too takes great joy in His creation. As we read in Psalm 139, His workmanship is marvelous; He has made each of us wonderfully complex. It is amazing to consider, that once upon a time you and I were His idea, we were in His mind, on His mind, even before He fashioned us into being! He considered every detail, every aspect of who you are – not just in the physical, but your giftings, your characteristics, tendencies and personality traits. He didn’t desire for me to possess the artistic genes some of my other siblings inherited, it was no accident that He intended me to possess something different. And the traits, the gifts and talents that mark your life are no accident either – they are the fingerprints of a loving Creator and Father, who knows everything about you, who carefully and deliberately made you!

Selah, pause and consider today how fearfully and wonderfully God has made you. Know that His thoughts are precious towards you, that they outnumber even the grains of sand on the beach I walked today! He watched over every moment of your creation in your mother’s womb, and to this very day, He places His hand of blessing upon you!

May you know how loved, how unique and fantastic you are today in the Father’s eyes!

You are blessed to be a blessing, Aimee x

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Tips for Walking on Water

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow – Helen Keller

Key Scriptures: Matt 14:20-34

I’m late in posting this week, it hasn’t been the week I planned or anticipated – I thought that I had a quiet week ahead! But there’s been some unexpected winds, whipping up the water, reminding me of how important what I want to share with you today is. You see, Peter had made the discovery, that the best way to reach the other side of the storm, was to be with Jesus, but as he stepped out in faith upon the stormy seas, he was about to discover some more lessons about water-walking with Jesus – first up, don’t look around or you will get wet!

As long as Peter’s eyes are glued on Jesus, he is able, he can walk on the water – but the moment he starts to get distracted, the moment that he starts to think about the wind, to contemplate the size of the waves, he can no longer see Jesus. All he can see is the circumstances that he’s stepped out in and he’s thinking – how can I get back in the boat? I‘m not going to make it to Him!  Jesus challenges Peter saying, “why do you doubt?” He was saying, why are you standing uncertainly considering two ways? Peter started out with great faith, but ended up with little faith, because He took His eyes of Jesus and entertained the power of the storm.

One of the greatest revelations God has given me in the past year is to focus on the who and not the how. When we focus on who God is, it builds faith and it releases freedom as we allow Him to be God in our lives. When we spend all our time and energy trying to figure out ‘how’ God will heal, ‘how’ God will provide, ‘how’ He will accomplish His plans for us, we have picked up the oars again, and we are back, straining to push through the storm, instead of allowing ourselves to see God, our Great I AM.

So if you find yourself beginning to sink because you’ve gotten distracted by the how, here’s the second tip, don’t wait till you’re drowning to ask God for help!

 Matthew 14:30 says when Peter was beginning  to sink He cried out to Jesus. That word is important, in the beginning – Peter doesn’t wait until he’s fully submerged, head popping up, gasping for water. No! At the very first instance He calls out to God and shows us yet again that the object of His faith is Jesus. Peter is not trying to climb back up the waves and save Himself, he simply says, “Lord, save me!”

While Peter’s faith hasn’t grown to its full potential, it is still focused on the right person. His faith has shifted from being in himself and his own abilities, to being on Jesus, our Saviour. Jesus who reaches out his hands and catches us when we fall; Jesus who always picks us back up and places us on our feet. So if you’re drowning today, don’t wait, cry out and know that He hears and He saves.

You are blessed to be a blessing, Aimee x

Going Deeper

Read Matt 14:20-34, focusing this time on verses 29 & 31, who or what are your eyes currently focusing on?

What has been your experience when you have allowed your focus to be on the external circumstances?

Who do you need to see God as today?  Take some time to worship Him for that particular attribute of His character.

Sunday Psalms – Ps 119

May Your unfailing love come to me, O Lord,

Your Salvation according to Your promise;

then I will answer the one who taunts me, for I trust in Your Word.

Do not snatch the Word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in Your laws.

I will always obey your law for ever and ever.

I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out Your precepts.

I will speak of Your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame,

for I delight in Your commands because I love them.

I lift up my hands to Your commands, which I love, and I meditate on Your decrees…

Oh, how I love Your law! I meditate on it all day long…

How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! – Psalm 119 (extracts from the NIV)

It’s generally easy to pick up on what someone is passionate about – something in their eyes lights up, the inflection in their voice changes, perhaps they become animated, and once they start on about it, chances are they just won’t stop! You could be forgiven for thinking that Psalm 119 was never going to come to an end – it’s the longest of all the Psalms with 176 verses! The Psalmist was clearly passionate about his topic, the Word of God. He uses vocabulary like love, delight, sweet are your words; he even goes on to say he’d take God’s laws over the riches of gold! You can sense his passion, his desire and love for the Word of God in every verse of this beautiful Psalm.

I am saddened when I consider the statistics that very few western believers have realised the treasure that we hold. In many of our homes, multiple copies, varying translations, sit gathering dust on our shelves and bed-sides. I pray that we would get a revelation like the psalmist did, of the power of God’s Word to transform our lives. In Psalm 138, David wrote that God has exalted above all things, His Name and His Word. God Himself, values what He took the time to record for our benefit – and the benefits are extensive!

Psalm 119 tells us that the Word is truth; that it brings freedom, strength and hope; it is righteous and trustworthy making us wise; it is eternal, enduring and stands firm; it preserves our lives and is the joy of our hearts; it is wonderful, good and boundless in perfection (in other words it goes beyond perfection!); it imparts peace and brings joy; sweeter than honey, it is our heritage; it is our counsel and comfort; it lights up our path;  it will keep us pure and bring understanding; it is forever right (don’t our generation need to remember that!) and it is precious!

Why don’t you Selah, pause and consider the benefits and blessings of His Word in your life today. May the Holy Spirit open up our minds to understand afresh the Scriptures (Luke 24).

You are blessed to be a blessing, Aimee x

It’s Time to Get Out of Your Boat!

God allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons we could not learn in any other way. The way we learn those lessons is not to deny the feelings but to find the meanings underlying them – Stanley Landquist

Key Scriptures: Matthew 14:22-34 / Mark 6:45-53 / John 6:16-21

Eldest child, Pastor’s kid, law-school graduate, responsible, capable, type-a, multi-tasker. Getting the picture? This was me –  calm, collected, in-control, wearing my labels. I was my ‘boat’. We all have our own boat, the thing or the person that we are really placing our confidence and security in, instead of God.  A job, a relationship, our status, a habit. Maybe like me, you yourself are your ‘boat’ and you’re straining at the oars just like the disciples, thinking if I can just steer this ship towards the shore.

We’ve been camping out in Matthew 14, taking a fresh look at the lessons, the revelations, the disciples gained in the storm – pondering how we can learn, to ‘count it all joy’ like James tells us. We’ve discovered that sometimes we’re safer in the storm than on dry land; that Jesus is praying us through our storm and that He reveals Himself to us, in very real, tangible ways; that He walks on the water of our storms, because He is bigger than the storm we face! Today I want to challenge us all, that it’s time to get out of our boats!

The boat in this passage represents their safety net, it was the only tangible thing that they had protecting them from the waves. But when Peter gets a revelation of our water-walking Jesus, he knows that the best way to get through this storm is to get out of the boat and go to Jesus. Most of our bibles say, “Lord, if it is You, tell me to come to You on the water” but some commentators have suggested a better translation is, “Since it is You Lord, tell me to come to You on the water.” Peter is saying, “I know You are Lord, and if you’ll allow it I’m coming out to You.”

I have always felt ‘safe’ in my own boat – controlling things to the best of my abilities, doing what I believed everybody, including God, expected of me. It has been the storms that have made me realise that I had a false sense of security. It has been coming face to face with my own inadequacy and inabilities, my own weakness, that has caused me to realise the depth of His strength, the depth of His love for me. It has been the storms that have awoken me to see His power, His ability and His resources to bring me through these seasons. Like Peter, in the storm, I have seen my water-walking Jesus, and I KNOW that the best place to be is not in the boat, but right by his side!

Jesus’s response to Peter’s request, was simply “Come.” His invitation is still the same today. Wherever you find yourself, whatever boat you have hunkered down in, hoping to ride the storm out in, He invites you to see Him, to get out of the boat and walk it out with Him.

You are blessed to be a blessing, Aimee x

Going Deeper

Reread Matthew 14:22-34 - if you have time, also read Mark’s account. Imagine you are the disciples, straining at the oars, hoping against hope to make it through the storm. What is going through your mind? Who are you depending on to get you to the other side?

Why do you think only one of the disciples, only Peter, chose to get out of the boat?

Is there anything or anyone, other than God that you have made your ‘boat’? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal it to you and give you the faith to step out on the water with Jesus.

My Jesus Walks on Water

God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants his footsteps in the sea And rides upon the storm – William Cowper

Key Scripture: Matthew 14:22-34

A few weeks back, I was down  at one of our local beaches that is usually very calm. On this particular morning, it was choppy and the breaking waves caught me out as I paused to look at the horizon! I was preparing this message, Reach the Other Side, and was trying to envisage Jesus, just calmly walking across the waves I now considered, waves that were full of power and purpose. I wonder now, as you consider your storms – be they slightly choppy seas, or full-blown hurricanes that seem to tear through your life, if you can see Jesus walking calmly across your storm? Are your eyes open to see Him?

At the point when the disciples were as far away from land as possible, when they must have felt like all human hope was gone, Jesus comes to them in a very real and tangible way, walking on the water. But the disciples are so terrified, so overwhelmed by the elements that are against them, that they don’t recognize Jesus, they think they are seeing a ghost, a demonic apparition. Maybe they were so exhausted, so defeated in their spirits that they thought they were hallucinating. One thing we need to understand is that the ancients viewed the sea as demonic, as a symbol of judgment, and so they had no expectation to encounter God in what they saw as satan’s territory.

Sometimes we miss the way God is revealing Himself in the midst of our suffering, because our mindset is that God cannot possibly be in the storm. But the reality of scripture is that God is not opposed to using the storms of life to correct us, to perfect and refine, to prepare us for His purposes. So often we fear illness, we fear lack, we fear our weakness and fail to see that it is in the very darkest places of our lives, God Himself comes to us, meets us in our need and reveals to us who He is and what He is capable of doing. He gives us the treasures of darkness, the riches stored in secret places so that we will know, that He knows us by name.

As Jesus comes towards the disciples, making His way across the stormy lake, He reminds them, that the very thing that they feared – the raging seas – was but a staircase, a vehicle for Him to come to them. As He walked across what they feared most at that point in time, He was giving them a visual picture – this is not too hard for me.

I wonder if we could get this image burned into our heads and hearts, if it would change how we function in the storm? If we could see Jesus, in all His deity, walking with calm authority across the crisis, the storm that we face, if it would cause the courage, the ‘good cheer’ that Jesus commanded of the disciples to rise up? Courage is a state of mind or spirit that enables us to face danger, to face fear with self-possession, with confidence, with bravery. This revelation of our water-walking Jesus is what we need to get us out of the boat.

Shift  your expectation today, open your eyes and look for Him wherever you find yourself. Be confident that God will reveal Himself to you in a way that is real, that is tangible. He will speak courage into you and remind you, that no storm is more powerful than Him.

You are blessed to be a blessing, Aimee x

P.S. Sorry for no Sunday Psalms this week – I took the weekend off for Mother’s day. Hope all you Mums had a great weekend!

Going Deeper

Re-read Matthew 14:22-34, imagine that you are one of the disciples, do you think you would have recognised Jesus in the middle of the storm? Consider your current circumstances, where and how can you see Jesus in them?

When Jesus heard the disciples cries of fear, He immediately replied, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” What or who, does His reply tell us is the answer/solution to their fear? If you have time also read Exodus 3:1-14, and consider God’s reply to Moses’ questions and fears.

Jesus Will Pray You Through Your Storm

If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me – Robert M. McCheyne

Key Passages: Matthew 14:22-34 / Mark 6:45-53 / John 6:16-24

So time for another confession as to my complete lack of physical ability - I can’t row a boat to save myself! The last time I tried was when I was sweet 16, and my girlfriend and I decided to take the dinghy out in the little bay we were holidaying at. By some miracle we succeeded in getting out, but managed to get too close to the rocks, and in our feeble attempts to get away, ended up going round and round in circles! In the end my friend jumped out and swam us back to shore, while I sat hysterically laughing in the boat! It was a calm, quiet bay, and yet my arms ached as we failed in our attempts to navigate the boat. I can only imagine how the disciples muscles must have throbbed as they strained against the wind and waves; how terrified they must have been, alone in the dark of might, with lurching waves buffeting them. 

The disciples had set out for the next port before dark – the whole trip should have taken 6-7 hours, but by the early hours of the morning they are only half way. You’ve probably been there too, alone in a night storm, feeling like hope is lost, too exhausted to see how you can possibly reach the other side, wondering where God could possibly be in all of this. Maybe you’ve been angry and disillusioned that He is seemingly absent. I’m sure it crossed the disciples minds, why didn’t He come with us? We need Him to speak to this storm the way He spoke to the last one!

When we can’t seem to find Him. When He’s not handling the situation the way He did the last time, or just not the way you’d hoped and expected, the beautiful truth is that He is praying you through your storm. Matthew 14:23 tells us that after the disciples had left, and He’d dismissed the crowds, that He went up on the mountain – not to take a nap, but to pray. And He is still praying. Hebrews 7:25 tells us that “He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.”

There is no situation, no storm that you have, or will face, that is beyond His saving ability. And right now, even though you might not be able to see Him in the dark night of the storm, He lives to pray for you, to intercede for you. He is praying you through, He will see you through to the other side – and He won’t do it from a distance, He will come and reveal Himself to you.

You are blessed to be a blessing, Aimee x

Going Deeper

Take a moment to pause and meditate on Hebrews 7:25. I know how great it feels to know people are praying for me! How does it feel to realise, that right at this very moment, in fact in every minute of every day, that Jesus Himself is praying for you?

How do you think this truth, that Jesus lives to pray for you, could transform your ability to navigate the storms?

Sunday Psalms – Psalm 23

The Lord is my Pace-setter, I shall not rush;
He makes me stop and rest for quiet intervals.
He provides me with images of stillness, which restore my serenity;
He leads me in ways of efficiency through calmness of mind,
And His guidance is peace.
Even though I have a great many things to accomplish each day,
I will not fret, for His presence is here.
His timelessness, His all importance, will keep me in balance.
He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity
By anointing my mind with His oils of tranquillity.
Surely harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruits of my hours,
For I shall walk in the peace of my Lord, and dwell in His house for ever – ps 23 Japanese Version

On Sunday afternoons I inevitably find myself creating a mental to-do list for the week, some weeks are more hectic than others, and this week being one, I found my anxiety levels creeping up!  My Dad loves this version of Psalm 23 – why don’t you take a moment to Selah, to pause and consider it. I know as I did, it reminded me to stop and breathe, to pause and commit the coming week to Him, to be refreshed by His presence.

May He set your pace this week, and as you follow His lead, may you know the beauty of His peace.

You are blessed to be a blessing, Aimee x

Sometimes We’re Safer in the Storm…

Out of defeat can come the best in human nature. As Christians face storms of adversity, they may rise with more beauty. They are like trees that grow on mountain ridges – battered by winds, yet trees in which we find the strongest wood – Billy Graham

Key Passages – Matt 14:22-34 (see also Mark 6:45-45 & John 6:16-23)

I’m sure, that like me, you enjoy the warm sunny days, the ones where the sky is clear blue, and the wind is just a gentle, refreshing breeze. While it would be nice, if life could be filled with such days, the reality is, that like nature needs the balance of the seasons, our hearts need the balance of the seasons – yes, even the grey, wet, windswept days of winter – to become all that God intended. James wrote in James 1, Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colours. So don’t try and get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. God wants to grow us to the point, that while we might not enjoy the storms themselves, we have the ability to take joy in what He is doing in us and for us in the storm seasons.

 We’re going to camp in Matthew 14:23-34 for a while, and unpack the lessons that Peter and the disciples learnt as they went through a literal storm. This storm takes place on the same day that Jesus had miraculously fed the 5,000 and we are told in v 23 that as soon as this supernatural feeding of the crowds was finished, Jesus insisted that the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side. This was no casual suggestion that they might like to go ahead while he got rid of the crowds, the original language is that He made them go, He compelled, perhaps even forced them to get out on the lake, where He knew they would encounter the storm. Can’t you see it? The disciples are basking in the glory of the miraculous, enjoying the awe of the crowds and Jesus wants them to leave the party!

Why? Why did it matter so much to Jesus to get the disciples away from the crowd? We miss it in the narrative of Matthew, but in John’s account we read, “After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, Surely this is the Prophet who is come into the world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make Him king by force, withdrew…”

Jesus knew, that the disciples, the men who argued about who would be greatest in the kingdom, would very easily get entangled in this plot and fall in with the crowd to make Jesus king. Jesus knew that there were greater plans, greater kingdom purposes at work, and that ultimately, they would  be safer alone out at sea, combatting a storm, than on dry land with the crowds, but out of God’s will. As we mature, we must learn to never judge our security on the basis of our circumstances alone because the truth is that sometimes, we are safer in the storm than on dry land.

We might not like what this means, it might make us uncomfortable to think that Jesus sent the disciples right into the path of  a storm, not because they were out of God’s will, but because they were in it. This was not a storm of correction (think Jonah), but a storm of perfection designed to grow their faith and prepare them for what was to come when Jesus was no longer with them.

If the storm is to be able to do its work of perfection in us and not become a vehicle of destruction in our lives, we must determine that we trust God. We must believe that He has good plans for us, plans to give us a future and a hope;  we must believe that He is ABLE to work all things together – storms included – for our good.

Len Buttner spoke recently at our Church and said, “God does not hide things from us, but for us.” God knows what purposes He has created us for and when we will be ready for them. God knows what kingdom purposes are at work in our lives and at this point in history. We have the benefit of hindsight, we know that the disciples went on to do great things to establish and build the kingdom of God, the eternal reign of Christ – but right at that point in time, they weren’t ready for it, they were safer in the storm.

Our storms will all take a different form, they will vary in intensity and duration, but let’s keep our eyes and hearts open, soft to what God is doing. Let’s determine to trust that He knows what He is doing in our lives.

You are blessed to be a blessing, Aimee x

P.S. For all my fellow-storm travellers, here’s a download of my message on this passage – Reach the Other Side.

Going Deeper

Read Matthew 14:13-23

Think about the most amazing event you have ever witnessed, try to remember what the atmosphere was like. Now consider how it would have felt to be made, not to have chosen, but to be made to leave that event early. What would your attitude/response have been?

Now think about something, a season or perhaps a job, or home, something you were anticipating, that felt like it was prematurely/unfairly taken from you. In hindsight are you able to see how God has taken that ‘stormy’ period and used it to grow you and prepare you for His purposes, to ensure the goal of James 1? Is there something that you now know He was protecting you from? If it’s a recent event, are you prepared to trust Him and believe that His purposes are above and beyond, better than what you can imagine for yourself?

Sunday Psalms – Psalm 93

The Lord is king! He is robed in majesty.

Indeed, the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength.

The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.

Your throne, O Lord, has stood from time immemorial.

You yourself are from the everlasting past.

The floods have risen up, O Lord.

The floods have roared like thunder; the floods have lifted their pounding waves.

But mightier than the violent raging of the seas,

mightier than the breakers on the shore –

the Lord above is mightier than these!

Your royal laws cannot be changed.

Your reign, O Lord, is holy forever and ever – Ps 93 (NLT)

My kids know that if I’m repeating myself, the instruction is really important! The psalmist wants us to take note, right at the outset of this psalm, that the Lord is robed, that He is clothed in majesty. If you study the original language, he is saying, God wears triumph, greatness, He is clothed in power, He is glorious, He rises up and He is to be lifted up – God is sovereign! The psalmist wants us to understand the power and strength that God has and is, so that we can view the storms that come our way through the lens of His ability.

Earlier this week, I was walking along one of our local beaches, which was a bit choppier than usual. As I paused and looked out along the bay, I could see the tremendous power, even in these small waves, as they surged towards the shore (and got me unexpectedly wet!). I was reminded that Jesus walked calmly across the stormy lake because as we see in this psalm, our God is mightier than even the most violent of storms.

I don’t know what storms or floods have arisen in your week, but what I do know is that God will arise to show Himself great within the storm you face. Over the next few weeks, we’re going to unpack some wisdom lessons from the storms of life, but for today, Selah, pause and consider that the God you worship is bigger, stronger, than the storm you face, and He is ABLE to bring you through.

You are blessed to be a blessing, Aimee x