Jesus Presence in the Storms of Life

By Ben Cox

From the 2024 Winter Journey: Stories from the Storm

Jesus will Help You Calm Your Storms If You Will Trust Him as Lord

ON 10/15/24, 18 DAYS AFTER THE STORM, I BEGAN TO WRITE THIS INTRODUCTION

September 27, 2024 will forever be emblazoned in the psyche of those residing in Northwestern NC, Eastern Tennessee and into Virginia as the worst storm of the century. Hurricane Helene destroyed roads, felled trees, caused unprecedented floods and landslides, sweeping away homes and lives and livelihoods in its wake!!! Some areas were obliterated, while others were relatively unscathed, except for temporary loss of power or internet. But, everyone of us was impacted by this event in ways we will never forget. Those of us who know and love Jesus are not necessarily surprised when these types of things happen in the world because Jesus told us they would. Nevertheless, we were shocked to the core by the storm’s fury.

Another washed out bridge and devastating damage.

A PRAYER FOR OUR READERS

On 12/11/24 as I began to write the final draft for this edition, my wife and I prayed that the Holy Spirit would bless this magazine to minister to all who read these pages and look at these pictures.

• For those who are lost

• Those who lost everything

• And those who love the Lord, but are seriously suffering or confused by the carnage, our prayer rises up to you O Sovereign Lord, that your amazing Grace and Peace be poured out on all us in the ways we need.

ON 10/15/24 INTRODUCTION CONTINUES

Today on October 15, 2024 it’s been 18 days since Hurricane Helene upended many of our homes, businesses and lives. Last night my sleep was abruptly interrupted at 2 AM with apocalyptic dreams where great storms and turmoils were continuing to be unleashed on the earth. Immediately I realized that this nightmare was more than just a symptom of seeing too many flood scenes on TV or on social media feeds. I realized that this was a spiritual dream with spiritual implications, so I lifted up a prayer to God and tried to go back to sleep. However, sleep did not come easily, because the dream was very disturbing. Plus, the weight of the responsibility of producing meaningful, God-honoring stories for this edition of our magazine weighed heavy on my mind.

Piles of wind and landslide trees washed down from creeks.

One of the many missing boats, canoes and kayaks.

Thank God, I was finally able to drift off to sleep. When I awoke the Holy Spirit was clearly speaking to me, giving me the guidance I needed for the days in front of me pursuing stories from the storm. The Lord simply spoke to my heart, “this is the day that you are to set aside to begin to write your intro to your 2024 Winter Edition about Jesus’ Presence in all of life’s storms.” And He reminded me of this important passage of Scripture that very much applies to what we are experiencing as humans on Planet Earth. In Matthew 24:3, Jesus’ closest disciples asked him this question: “....what will be the sign of Your coming and the end of the age?” Here’s how Jesus, the Prophet, responded to that question as recorded in Matt. 24:4-14: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of Me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Though the full impact of Hurricane Helene in our region struck on 9/27/24, the rains began to fall on Wednesday, 9/25/24 and It was then that my regular morning Bible devotional readings happened to be The Gospel of Luke in chapter 8 where Luke tells his account of Jesus Calming the Storm in vs. 22-26. So I read the passage in Luke 8, Matthew 8 and in Mark 4. Here’s how Mark’s account tells about this epoch event in human history:

JESUS CALMS THE STORM

Mark 4:35-41:

That day when evening came, He said to His disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took Him along, just as He was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke Him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” When I read this passage on Sept 25, 2024, I had no idea what was about to hit us when the full force of Hurricane Helene descended on the night of September 27, 2024. But I do know this: Jesus will help you calm whatever storms you are facing now or will face in the future, IF YOU PUT YOUR FAITH IN HIM!!!