Good morning people God is working in

(By Jim Shaw)

As the boat slipped effortlessly out into the harbour from the bustling docks at Joppa, Jonah sat down on a coil of rope. He felt pleased to be on board. His plan was working but in spite of the relief he felt, he also felt a deep foreboding in his heart. Jonah was running from the presence of the Lord, but thankfully God prepared a great storm and a great fish to help Jonah succeed in his ministry.

In 2 Timothy 4:7 Paul said I have finished my course (a sailing term). Paul the great pattern man and apostle completed his course not because he had a perfect knowledge of God’s will, but because storms and circumstances beyond his control, yet completely within the control of God, blew him to the mark. In Nahum 1:3, it says that God has His way in the storm. Many of the circumstances that came into Paul’s life were uninvited and unpleasant. Mostly we don’t volunteer to go to the places where the growth and stretching of our faith takes place, but God faithfully blows us there in His storms. In His storms, even people like the sailors who threw Jonah overboard are unwittingly part of God’s plan to help us stay on course. Our difficult circumstances are all conspiring for our success.

Most of all, God wants to reveal Himself to us in a way that He never could without the storm. The disciples in Mark 4:35-41 learned of God’s sovereignty over all, and Jonah found out just how much God loves sinners. So right now in the midst of your storm, hold on because there is something more of God that He wants to reveal to you, that you can only see by going through the storm. And you should know that when God planned the storm for Paul he had already prepared a people for harvest, and when he planned a storm for Jonah he had already prepared a fish to help Jonah end up a success.

Friend, I have found that God is at work in us, Philippians 2:13…and in our storms.

(Today’s BIY written by Jim Shaw)