All people, at some point in their lives, will come upon difficult and trying circumstances that are traditionally characterized as a storm. As much as we try, with great-valiant effort, to avoid certain things, no one can avoid the inevitable storm or storms that will occur in their life. Storms are just part of the human condition, and we are either coming out of a storm, in a storm, or heading for a storm. Since we know that storms are one of life's certainties, we should prepare to deal with them by equipping ourselves with the necessary knowledge and skills. This is an imperative statement because if you are not prepared to deal with a storm, then your life can easily be ripped apart by it. In a very short period of time, a storm can quietly and quickly remove things in your life that have taken you a lifetime to acquire. You can be a very secure person, but if you are not prepared, a storm can uproot values that once nurtured and upheld your life, like a stalwart tree uprooted from the ground. Therefore, if you want to know the things to do to make it through a storm, Making It through a Storm is a book that you will want to read. This book takes a look at what a group of people in 27th chapter of Acts did, who made it successfully through a severe storm, to learn the fundamental principles that one needs to embrace to make it through a storm. Making It through a Storm will share with you some very insightful, surprising, inspirational and delightful things that will help you make it through a storm in manner that will strengthen and enhance your life. Personal storms are common, but pertinent aids to help us in understanding and surmounting them are rare indeed. This book is one such rare aid, and its pages are filled with wisdom shared from a warm heart. Dr. James Earl Massey Dean Emeritus and Distinguish Professor-at-Large Anderson University School of Theology

Making it Through a Storm

By Terry Thomas

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2010 Rev. Dr. Terry Thomas
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4490-7886-7

Contents

Acknowledgments..................................................................vForeword.........................................................................viiIntroduction.....................................................................11. Avoiding Self-Imposed Storms..................................................112. The Hope That Endures the Zero-Moment Point of a Storm........................273. Courage: The Impetus to Face Our Storm........................................414. Developing an Attitude that Prevails through a Storm..........................595. The Importance of Crying for Help in the Midst of a Storm.....................796. Maintaining Our Health during the Storm.......................................977. The Importance of Remaining Calm During the Storm.............................1158. Coming to Grips with My Reason in the Storm...................................1359. The Night Time of the Storm...................................................14910. My Guardian Angel through My Storm...........................................16711. Seizing the Moment to Come Out of a Storm....................................18912. Holding on to My Convictions: My Anchor for the Storm........................20313. The Faith that Carries Us through the Storm..................................21714. The Ultimate Purpose of a Storm..............................................231

Chapter One

Avoiding Self-Imposed Storms

For nearly five years, I was blessed to serve as pastor of the Mount Zion Baptist Church in Madison, Wisconsin. Living in Madison, I must say, was a special treat. Working with the kind people of the Mount Zion Baptist Church, the exciting worship experience every Sunday and the wonderful summers made living in Madison, Wisconsin a special treat. But along with the good times came the challenging times of the winter. The winters in Madison were filled with extremely low temperatures, the constant shoveling of snow, and the occasional-hazardous driving conditions. The winter season in Madison was always full of suspenseful moments. But for me, the most suspenseful moments during the winter season were the times I had to fly.

Flying in and out of Madison during the winter season, seemingly, was never without some degree of suspense. Practically all of my flights were delayed or contained unexpected layovers. I can recall with great detail the times when the pilot would announce over the intercom, while in the midst of the early stage of the flight in the air, "We have changed our destination to another airport in order to avoid a storm that is headed our way." My first time ever trafficking through the airport of Minneapolis, Minnesota occurred on a flight that was supposed to travel from Dayton, Ohio to Madison with a layover in Detroit, Michigan. The flight, however, was rerouted to Minneapolis in order to avoid a storm that was in our path to Detroit.

Though at those times extremely curious about what was going on, I was always moved by the pilot's ingenuity to avoid a storm. In a sense, it left an indelible impression upon me about our interactions with some storms. It was impressed upon me that we are not necessarily obligated to engage in every storm that could descend upon our lives. Since there are different reasons as to why a storm may descend, it is possible to avoid certain storms altogether. Ron Mehl in his book Surprised Endings: Ten Good Things About Bad Things listed four different means by which a storm can come upon us. He wrote that:

Sometimes Satan causes the storm.

Sometimes people cause the storm.

Sometimes I cause the storm.

Sometimes the Lord sends the storm.

The storms that Ron Mehl insisted we cause ourselves, are storms that I strongly believe can be avoided. I call those self-imposed storms.

In case there are those who feel that it is just inconceivable in any form to be the cause of your own storm, let me just say that I hear you, and I give some credence to your view. However, let us contemplate on the following scenarios to see if what I am advocating about self-imposed storms is even plausible.

If we had not bought those things that we knew we could not afford and did not necessarily need, we could have avoided being in this financial storm.

I failed to study hard in school, preferring instead to skip class, play around and mess around. So I had to start stealing, dealing illegal drugs and gang banging to earn money. But if I had worked hard in school and gotten my degree, this stormy time that I am spending in the state prison could have been avoided.

The warning was on the cigarettes package, but I ignored it and continued to smoke many packages of cigarettes every week. So this lung cancer that I am suffering with could have been avoided.

I just would not listen. In spite of seeing how illicit drugs and intoxicating beverages were destroying other people's lives, I still had to try those things. I led myself into the addiction that is now controlling and consuming my life and this cirrhosis of my liver could have been avoided.

I saw what it did to too many of my relatives, but I still continued to eat a tremendous amount of fried food and salty ham. This hypertension from which I am now suffering could have been avoided.

I really have no excuse. My mother always told me about the kind of people that I should or should not seek to marry. She even told me once to date who I wanted, but mind who I marry. But I overlooked all of the things she told me to be aware of, and now this stormy ruptured relationship that I am enduring could have been avoided.

After reading these scenarios, can we now agree that some storms in life can be avoided? Even this severe storm that is the focus of this series could have been avoided.

The severe storm in Acts 27, as shown in our text, could have easily been avoided, if the captain of the ship had simply listened to the advice of the Apostle Paul. The text reveals that in the early stages of their journey to Italy, they were experiencing difficulty sailing because of the weather conditions. Leaving a place called Myra, the rigorousness of the wind forced them to pull into a harbor called Fair Haven. At Fair Haven harbor, Paul admonished them not to continue sailing with these words, "Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives" (Acts 27:10). It is clear in his admonishment. Paul did not want them to sail because of the potential losses - cargo, equipment, and even lives - and damages - to the ship and their lives - that could possibly occur if they came in contact with that storm. This, may I say in my opinion, is the primary reason why self-imposed storms must be avoided. Self-imposed storms can bring unnecessary losses and damages to our lives. One's sense of self-respect, dignity, valuable time, happiness and financial stability can be lost in self-imposed storms, and one's self-worth, reputation, and health can be damaged in self-imposed storms. Nevertheless, Paul's advice was and they continued to sail. However, things turned out just as Paul had predicted. Tremendous losses occurred, and irreparable damage was done to the ship.

In 1981, a tornado hit in my hometown, Hurtsboro, Alabama. One of the results from the storm was complete destruction of my great-grandmother's house. Yet, in the midst of the storm, God was still good. God brought her safely through, and a new house was built for her. Upon the completion of the house, my great-grandmother was interviewed by the local newspaper. The reporter asked my great-grandmother, "Miss Austin (my great grandmother's name) how do you like your new house?" My great grandmother replied, "I don't like it. I love it." The new house was much bigger and better than the one destroyed during the storm. My great grandmother's recovery from the storm placed her in a better position than she enjoyed before the storm. However, a recovery from the storms of life may not be as prosperous, profitable and pleasant as the storm of nature was for my great grandmother.

Trust me. There are certain harm and losses in our lives that we do not want to experience. It is extremely hard to regain or repair certain things in our lives that have become lost or damaged. This is the reason why self-imposed storms must be avoided! Therefore, the relevant question is, "What must I do to avoid self-imposed storms?"

I. The Advice of People with Experience Must Not Be Pushed Aside

George S. Johnson in his book Critical Decisions in Following Jesus tells a story about a doctor who received a call late one night to come to the hospital. As the story goes, someone was near death and needed a physician's attention or death was certain. The nearest hospital was over 30 miles away in a neighboring town. The doctor, being faithful to his oath, got dressed and took off in his car. But at a stoplight, a man jumped into his car, pulled a gun, and told the doctor, "I need your car. Get out." The doctor got out, and was left to find another way to get to the hospital.

When the doctor finally arrived, the nurse met him and told the doctor that the woman had just died. She said, "You are too late, Doctor. But would you go and say a word to the husband. He is weeping uncontrollably in the family lounge." When the doctor entered the lounge, to his great surprise, the husband in the lounge was the man who had pulled the gun on him and took his car. The husband had pushed aside the very man that could have helped him. To avoid self-imposed storms in my life, I must be careful not to push aside the people that can help me who have some experience in what I have yet to experience.

Paul's admonishment was not without some awareness and rationality. Paul was an experienced traveler and knew that sailing during that time of the year was dangerous. Verse 9 informs us that the time of their sail was after the fast had occurred - the Jewish Day of Atonement. The Jewish Day of Atonement was celebrated somewhere around the 10th of October. Sailing was considered dangerous from mid-September to mid-November and disastrous from mid-November to mid-February. We are not told the circumstances, but Paul had been in three different shipwrecks (II Corinthians 11:25). From his experience, Paul knew it was not a good time for them to sail. The advice that Paul gave to those in charge of the ship was from his personal experience. However, the centurion soldier, who was in charge of the journey, chose to listen to the captain of the ship and the owner of the ship instead of listening to Paul.

Oh, how much wisdom could be gained, if we would listen to those who have already gone through what we may potentially go through? When I was 21 years old, a dear friend shared with me a perspective about the value of experience that I will always remember. My friend explained, "The best experience in life is someone else's experience because you don't have to pay the price to get it." We must not bypass the opportunity to profit greatly from the experience of others! There are those who have already, metaphorically, been shipwrecked multiple times in life. They know where the pitfalls, up sides, and down sides are in certain situations of life. They know when a potential storm can occur in our lives. Therefore, we must be wise, and listen to their advice. Proverbs 9:9a says, "give instruction to a wise man, and he [or she] will be yet wiser." Then Proverbs 18:15b asserts that "the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge." It stands to reason; in order to avoid self-imposed storms, you cannot push aside the advice of people with experience.

II. We Must Be Willing to Endure Situations that are Uncomfortable and Undesirable.

You may recall from the reading of the text that because of the wind, the captain of the ship steered the ship into a small port called Fair Haven. Fair Haven was not a very large harbor nor was it near any sizeable town. It was, for the lack of a better expression, a dump - not the best harbor to settle in for the winter. Therefore, they made a decision to travel to the next closest harbor.

Granted, Fair Haven did not have a lot to offer. No doubt, it would have been uncomfortable for them. They would have been denied some of the luxuries they were accustomed to such as kind services, nightlights, various entertainment and other excitements typical of a larger harbor. However, Fair Haven would have allowed them to avoid that storm, and Fair Haven would have at least provided a place for them to dock for the winter. Furthermore, Paul was not asking them to stay there forever. He was only asking them to wait in Fair Haven until the weather conditions were more conducive for safe sailing.

I must admit; no one enjoys being in conditions that are uncomfortable and annoying. But to avoid self-imposed storms in our lives, we must be willing to endure situations for a while that might be uncomfortable and annoying. Here again, they did not have to stay in Fair Haven forever, only for the winter. The winter was going to pass and spring was on the way. The stormy conditions were going to cease, and the waves were going to stop rolling.

Consider, sometimes it may be necessary to endure the discomfort of being alone in order to avoid a self-imposed storm. It is no fun being alone. This is especially true for the very young. But remember, there are times when something redemptive is gained through suffering. Viktor Frankl, a renowned psychiatrist who survived eight years in the Nazi death camps, asserts, "In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning." Seek to understand the meaning as to why we need to suffer through some things.

Alonzo Mourning was once named Defensive Player of the Year, and several times was named to the NBA All Star Team. On two different occasions, he was second runner up to the MVP of the league. He also was a member of the 2000 Olympic Basketball Team that won the Gold Medal. Despite all of these accomplishments, Alonzo Mourning went through an extremely painful recovery due to a kidney transplant. He talked about how painful that process was in his book, Resilience. But Alonzo Mourning said that he was influenced by the following statement made by Lance Armstrong in his autobiography to endure the pain. "Pain," Armstrong declared, "is temporal. Quitting lasts forever." Like pain, the discomfort of being alone is also only temporal. Furthermore, do not let society's billboard fashion confuse your mind.

Don't be afraid to suffer the inconveniences of an old car.

There is nothing wrong with not wearing designer clothes.

There is nothing wrong with having to catch the bus to where you need to go.

There is nothing wrong with staying in your parent's house, and having to adhere to a curfew.

If you are a young married couple, there is nothing wrong with having to suffer juggling one car between the two of you.

Many people have undergone financial storms because of an unwillingness to suffer through situations that were uncomfortable. They operated on a principle of "want" ability versus the principle of "afford" ability. Wanting something too badly, more times than not, will place you in a self-imposed storm. But First Peter 5:10 says, "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strength and settle you." And Paul said in Philippians 4:11b "in all things I have learned to be content." To avoid self-imposed storms, I must be willing to endure some situations that are not necessarily desirable and comfortable.

III. We Must Keep the Advice of People with Eager Expectation and a Spirit of Invincibility in the Proper Perspective

Dr. Gregory T. Headen, former Dean of Shaw Divinity School located in Raleigh, North Carolina, once said to me, "Always keep in perspective the source of your feedback, good or bad." The same can be said about advice. We must always keep in perspective the source of our advice, and this clearly seen in the response of the centurion soldier to Paul's advice versus the advice of the captain and owner of the ship.

After Paul gave his advice to the centurion soldier, the centurion soldier sought the advice of the captain and owner of the ship. Remember, this ship was headed to Italy. In addition to taking prisoners to Rome, this ship was also delivering a cargo of Egyptian grain to Rome. The ship used for this voyage was a large grain ship, and Egyptian grain was one of the most basic and desirable products in Rome. So, the owner of the ship had eager expectation. He was eager for the revenue that was to be gained upon the delivery of the Egyptian grain to Rome. His primary concern was financial gain, not safety of the crew. Furthermore, "[to] winter in Fair Havens would have meant a four-month delay, and the ship's owner would have to pay the crew's wages and buy their supplies during that time." Again, an issue of revenue was in the picture.

(Continues...)

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