The Perfect Storm

By Bobbie Knoezer
I’m not an avid movie watcher but once in a while a commercial will come on the TV about a certain movie about to be released and my curiosity will arise about the subject of the film. A few years back I was challenged in that way about the advertisements of a certain movie entitled “The Perfect Storm”. Oddly enough, I received a book for Christmas that year entitled “Storms Don’t Bother Me”. This book was written by Charles G. Scott, the Bishop of a large church denomination called the Pentecostal Church of God.

The book thoughts were taken from the 27th chapter of the Book of Acts in the New Testament of the Bible. I don’t think there is one living person on this earth that hasn’t felt like at some time or another in their life that they were going through a storm. Storms are not fun!

Back in 1989 my late husband and I were living in South Carolina when Hurricane Hugo hit the east coast and came 150 miles inland with the eye of the storm passing right over our little town. I had never encountered such a wind and noise that I heard that night. I knew by the time the morning came that I was “prayed up and ready to go up!” We lived in a double-wide mobile home on one acre of land full of tall Georgia Pine trees. Around 3 o’clock in the morning those tall pines got to swapping places on our property and we could hear branches breaking and trees falling and the wind howling like a freight train coming through. When morning broke and we could assess the damage, we were just amazed at all the damage to our acreage yet not one shingle was off our roof; neither one of our cars were touched, and we still had electricity. I’m sorry but I just have to declare that it was truly a “GOD THING”.

The story given in the Bible in Acts 27 speaks of a terrible storm at sea. I think that may be why I was drawn to the television commercial about the movie “The Perfect Storm”. As I began to read Bishop Scott’s book entitled “Storms Don’t Bother Me” I could quickly understand what he was trying to convey to each reader how the natural elements of nature can also be compared to the spiritual happenings in ones life here on earth.

The Bible says that the storm came “quickly” upon the ship as it sailed through the Mediterranean Sea. The common words, “all of a sudden”, come up in conversations nearly every day. One can be going through life, enjoying their surroundings, happy as a lark, when “all of a sudden” a “storm” begins to rise in their life. What use to be calm and peaceful suddenly becomes a torrent of fear, strife, and just unbelievable turmoil. Turbulence is something none of us like to encounter. I’ve had a few airplane trips that started out nice and smooth only to be met with a sudden spot of turbulence and my stomach dropped as quickly as the plane did! Storms can develop quickly and one needs to be prepared for the “all of a sudden” syndrome.

My own personal experiences of sudden storms in life have brought lessons of courage, strength, and trust in a God that never fails His people. Storms of life can really test ones spiritual strength. A well-known Southern Gospel Music Family called The McKamey’s sing a song written by Tracy Dartt entitled “God On The Mountain”. The lyrics say….. Life is easy, when you’re up on the mountain, and you’ve got peace of mind like you’ve never known. But then things change and you’re down in the valley; don’t lose faith for you’re never alone. For the God on the mountain is still God in the valley, when things go wrong, He’ll make them right. For the God of the good times is still God in the bad times…the God of the day is still God in the night.

Hebrews 13:8 ”Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.” God never changes! Through natural storms or spiritual storms, He will protect His children and He can make things right.

Proverbs 3:5 ”Trust in the Lord with all your heart…..” The Perfect Storm may come into your life but hopefully you’ll be able to say through it all…. “Storms Don’t Bother Me”.