January 27, 2009 – “Fear Not… For This Too Shall Pass” January 27, 2009

Good morning.  Picture this: You’re watching the news and the forecast tells you that a major hurricane is about to hit. You know the storm is coming but you continue life as usual. You do nothing to prepare and brace yourself for what is about to happen. An hour before the storm hits you realize that you have to take cover so you go to your closet to pray and wait. An hour passes…and nothing happens. Another hour…nothing. You find the courage to get up and look out of your window and you see all the devastation around you but nothing happened to you. You think “wow, it passed over me” but you don’t understand why.   Our lives are a lot like this. Today I’m going to share a story about myself. When I was younger I was lost. I didn’t know why I was still alive and for a long time I wanted to die. At the age of 16 I attempted to take my own life. As I sat in an empty room with a bottle of pills in one hand and a drink in the other I began to picture the storm of death being forecasted over my life. I pictured the devastation and damage my death storm would cause. I could see my funeral, my burial, and the hurt and pain in everyone’s faces when they’d heard the news that I was dead. I took 30 or so pills and waited for the storm of death to overtake me. An hour passed…nothing, I was still alive. I couldn’t understand what was (or wasn’t happening). Another hour…nothing, I was STILL here. I remember waking up in the hospital thinking, “God why did you let this pass over me? I just knew the storms of my life would destroy me and yet you continued to let me live.” God spoke to me and said, “because you aren’t finished yet…” and here I am today.   For any of you who have seen the forecast of your life and all you can see are storms, fear not! The answer to yesterday’s trivia question was “do not be afraid.” There is a reason this saying appears 365 times in the Bible. That means there is a verse for EVERYDAY. So today, and everyday, stand on the promises of God that tell you to not be afraid… for He is with you.

Scripture To Remember: Matthew 8: 23-25 Then he got in the boat, his disciples with him. The next thing they knew, they were in a severe storm. Waves were crashing into the boat-and he was sound asleep! They roused him, pleading, “Master, save us! We’re going down!”  26Jesus reprimanded them. “Why are you such cowards, such faint-hearts?” Then he stood up and told the wind to be silent, the sea to quiet down: “Silence!” The sea became smooth as glass.  27The men rubbed their eyes, astonished. “What’s going on here? Wind and sea come to heel at his command!”

When you need a song… It Passed Over Me by Vashawn Mitchell & Friends            (click cd cover for audio) I don’t why He did it Can’t tell you how He did it All I can say is that He cares Not because of how good I was But because of how great He is He looked beyond my faults And saw my needs God allowed everything To pass over me   Could have been dead in an accident Could have lost my life But there’s a reason I’m still here Not because of how good I was But because of how great He is He looked beyond my faults And saw all of my needs God allowed everything To pass over me   He didn’t let it be Oh no, it passed over me The devil tried to take me out of here But God He didn’t Let it be Oh no, it passed over me   Tried to take my life but God didn’t Let it be Oh no, it passed over me   I don’t deserve it So unworthy He didn’t, let it be So grateful Very thankful He didn’t, let it be   Yes It passed over me God didn’t, let it be

Book Spotlight The Message: The Bible In Contemporary Language If you’re like me the King James version of the Bible can be down right confusing. The Message is a great tool and reads like a novel. Try it out! “The goal of The Message is to engage people in the reading process and help them understand what they read. This is not a study Bible, but rather “a reading Bible.” The verse numbers, which are not in the original documents, have been left out of the print version to facilitate easy and enjoyable reading. The original books of the Bible were not written in formal language. The Message tries to recapture the Word in the words we use today. ” ~ From www.biblegateway.com

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