Heather has been reading a devotional entitled Proven Promises by Howard Vanderwell. She received it from my aunt Ann, who had breast cancer many years ago. This morning, she read a devotional entitled "Faith in Storms" (p.27). We were both moved by this reading, so I wanted to share it in its entirety here.
Faith, by its very nature, cries out to be exercised in those times in life when the storms are the most severe. As a matter of fact, faith seems to be more at home in sorrow than in the calm.
Jesus' message to his disciples in this Galilean storm is very simple yet profound. "Yes, I understand you fear. But I expect you to say, 'I see the waves, and I feel the wind, and I know the boat is tossing, and I even observe the water coming into the boat.' And then I call you to say 'but'...'but I see Jesus and I trust his care.'"
And His message to many of us is the same. He meets us in our valleys and says, "Yes, I understand you fear. But you must learn to say 'but'. You must say, 'I heard the doctors reports, and I feel the pain, and I know the threat of malignancy, and I sense the disappointment of it all...but...I see Jesus and I trust His care of me.'"
Faith does not hide from the storms. It does not try to rationalize them away. Faith stares right into the face of all storms and then say "but...I also see Jesus...and I trust Him to care for me."
The devotional may be ordered from:
Dr Howard D. Vanderwell
3770 Black Creek Drive
Hudsonville, MI 49426
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