He's Turning Storms into Solutions

03.24.19

During worship at church this week, we sang a song called “Victory is Yours.” One specific line grabbed hold of my heart, “The victory is Yours, You’re riding on the storm.” These lyrics swept me into a vision of Jesus surfing on massive waves. The wind and weather were alarming to say the least, but He was radiant with peace and joy. He was caught up in the excitement and enjoyment of what He was doing, rather than anxious of the storm around Him. I watched as He merely leaned and the wave immediately obeyed His movement. It began to turn in the direction He wanted it to go. It was like the waves were one with Him and listening to even the slightest adjustments of His body and posture. In fact, they were so in sync, it was as if the waves were an extension of His being.

What I saw in this vision reminded me of the scripture in James 1:5-7 (NKJV). It says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;” As I read this scripture, a question arose from my spirit, “Are you a wave tossed by the wind, or a vehicle of faith for Jesus to command and ride upon?”

There are many different stories in the New Testament where we see Jesus mastering the waves. Perhaps one of my favorites is when He’s sleeping in the boat and the disciples wake Him from His slumber to tell Him of the storm surrounding them. In Mark 4:35- 41 (NKJV), the scripture says, “But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!””

The wind in this passage is symbolic of the strategies of the enemy to blow us off course for our destiny. In fact, the Greek word for wind here is “anemos” meaning a very strong tempestuous wind. It’s the kind of wind that causes major resistance when you go against it, or forcefully pushes you in a direction you are not meaning to go. We use the word tempest to describe a violent storm, but the Latin root word is “temp” which means “time”. It’s the same root word used for our word “temptation”. Tempests are known to only come at certain “times” a year, just like the enemy is very strategic in the way that He times the winds of temptation in your life.

This past Sunday, the message Pastor Dana preached was on temptations. He reminded us that, just like when Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days, the enemy will always come when you are at your weakest or most unstable point. He’s waiting for the moment that you become an easy target, especially moments where we have isolated ourselves. At these times, we must remember Hebrews 2:18 (TPT). It says, “He suffered and endured every test and temptation, so that He can help us every time we pass through the ordeals of life.” Literally everything we could possibly face is something Jesus already conquered. The timing of the enemy is no match for the timing of God’s faithfulness to help us when we need Him."

1 Corinthians 10:13 (TPT) says, “We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously.” The key here is being able to quickly discern your “way of escape” and move towards it. Anyone whose ever been in a building that’s on fire can attest to the fact that the amount of escape routes cannot fully ensure your safety. If you don’t know where those exits are, in the utter darkness, you are still at risk of being burned or breathing in too much smoke. Your ability to quickly assess the situation and move in the right direction is the deciding factor on whether or not you get to safety without getting hurt or worse. God will always provide your way out, but you are the only one capable of choosing to move towards the route He has prepared for you.

When Jesus was in the boat, and the disciples were doubting their safety, He quickly rebuked the wind, but then He spoke to the waves “Peace, Be Still.” Unfortunately, many of us have not understood the significance of what He did. He rebuked the wind because it was a strategy of the enemy, but He spoke to the waves because the waves were the vehicle they needed to get to the other side of the sea. The waves were God’s important plan for their “way of escape”. Many of us, out of a lack of discernment, have spent our time rebuking the very circumstances, people, jobs (etc) that God has purposed to carry us to our destiny. We must do as Jesus did, rebuke the winds and speaking peace into these “vehicles to our destiny”.

The word for waves in the Greek is “kyma”. It’s metaphorically symbolic of our impulses and raging passions. It’s in trials and places of extreme pressure that we learn what our passions truly are. When you align your passions with Christ, like the waves in the vision, and heed His every movement, the winds cannot keep you from entering into the will of God. The measure in which you submit your impulses and passions to Jesus will determine the measure of strength given to you to withstand the attacks of the enemy. Impulses and passions unchecked block the flow of the Holy Spirit’s fruit of self-control in your life (Galatians 5:22-23).

This is where faith is most important. Faith is what gives us the courage to step out of the boat when Jesus calls us (Matthew 14:22-33). It’s the belief in God’s pure love that lets us know that He will never lead us into places that won’t ultimately benefit us and draw us into the best versions of ourselves that we can be. Faith and obedience go hand in hand. It’s faith that motivates us to listen to God’s voice. That’s why the Bible says, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him...(Hebrews 11:6 ESV)” An obedience problem, is really just a doubt problem, because when you fully believe in the goodness of God, it’s easy to do what He asks of you. As you press into the nature and kindness of God, He will turn your storms into solutions!

The Bible says in Romans 10:17 (NKJV), "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." The more you plant the Word of God in your heart, the more you with hear the Holy Spirit, and the more you hear the Holy Spirit, the more your faith will increase. It's that simple. We must build our house upon the foundation of the Word of God. Like in the parable Jesus told about the wise and the foolish builder in Matthew 7:24-27 (TPT). “Everyone who hears my teaching and applies it to his life can be compared to a wise man who built his house on an unshakable foundation. When the rains fell and the flood came, with fierce winds beating upon his house, it stood firm because of its strong foundation. “But everyone who hears my teaching and does not apply it to his life can be compared to a foolish man who built his house on sand. When it rained and rained and the flood came, with wind and waves beating upon his house, it collapsed and was swept away.” The winds could not affect the wise. Notice the difference between the wise and the foolish! It wasn't hearing the word alone that made them different, it was the application of it. The Word without the revelation, inspiration, and application of the Holy Spirit will do absolutely nothing for us. When the church comes to this knowledge and maturity, our faith will finally reach that place where nothing is impossible (Mark 9:23).

In the last part of the vision I had about watching Jesus surf the wave, the wave began to look like an extension of His body. I believe this is symbolic of the unifying of His body. Unity in the church is as simple as unity with Christ. If we all begin to adjust ourselves with the Word by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we'll all by in sync with one another.

"So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." Ephesians 4:11-16 (NIV)