The Tempest

Sometimes life blows in a storm so strong that it knocks you off your feet and leaves you wondering what just “hit”.  Probably once or twice in our lives, a hurricane comes through.  The biggest difference in this kind of tempest is that we often don’t see it coming and don’t expect it.

I think Peter was hit by a tempest the night he betrayed Jesus.  He had even been told he would betray Jesus by Jesus but still Peter didn’t believe it.  We must remember that Peter never expected that Jesus would be arrested and the disciples would scatter in fear.  Peter never expected one of them to sell Jesus out.  He did not expect the plot leading to his tempest experience.

I think Elijah had a tempest experience he didn’t expect (I Kings 19) and Daniel had a tempest experience (Daniel 6) in the Lion’s Den, and Joseph had a tempest experience when his brothers sold him into slavery (Genesis 37). 

The thing about Tempest experiences, when your feet are completely swept out from under you and you don’t know how to get up is that it’s your defining moment. 

It’s the moment you will have to decide whether you will turn to God or turn away from God.  It’s the moment you will have to decide what your life will be like from that point on. 

I’ve been on the planet long enough to realize that everyone has a defining moment.  Everyone.  The choice will be yours.  Will you talk to God, or will you sit in your own sorrow and turn away…it’s up to you to decide.