Lord of the Storm

Publication: Pastoral Letter, November 2004

Dear Friend in Christ:

I have been writing these monthly Pastoral Letters for nearly twenty years. My purpose
is to draw life from where I am, and to share life with you where you are. I receive
many responses that encourage me. I am grateful that you take the time to read the
letters.

Where I am now is in the days following Hurricane Ivan, in early October. You will not
receive this letter for a few weeks, but the truth of it will endure and serve us all in the
years ahead. Hurricane Ivan was the worst storm to hit our area in many years. (Our
area being the Alabama/Florida Gulf Coast of the United States.) Scores of lives were
lost as the storm moved into Alabama and Florida and then up through the Northeastern
United States.

Waves in the Gulf of Mexico were recorded as high as 52 feet, and wind gusts were
clocked at 162 miles per hour. By the time Ivan made landfall, waves had “subsided” to
about 25 feet and sustained winds of more than 130 miles per hour. Television recorded
the devastation. Dreams of a life time were blown away by the terrible fury.

Immediately after the storm, I drove to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, which is located

approximately 100 miles northwest of Mobile, to speak at a seminar. Along the way, I
stopped to get a sandwich. I had to drive awhile to find a place that was open. The lines
were long, and just ahead of me in line was a family who had lost all. They were from
nearby Pensacola, Florida. They described the horror of the night that Ivan came
through their area and the tornado that destroyed their home as they hid in the bathroom.
They had taken photos of what once was their home. Their escape was miraculous.

The family also described their journey out of Pensacola and the difficulty of finding an
open road. All major roads were closed. They came in search of supplies, a generator,
and some food. I could see the pain and shock on their faces, and I felt it too. I bought
their lunch, listened to their story, and thought that there were thousands more like
them.

My wife, Carolyn, and I also rode out the storm in our house. I had boarded up our
house, and prepared as best as I could. We took in Carolyn’s 90-year-old mother, and
Carolyn’s sister. The storm intensified Wednesday night as winds howled, and trees
bowed before it. I stayed up to watch and see if my preparations would hold. Thank
God they did. By 2:30 AM, when the eye of the storm finally came, I felt that the
“Death Angel” had passed over our house.

I went to bed and thought of those to our east who were enduring a night of horror. The
severe devastation began just about 10 miles east of us and would continue for 150
miles further east, as floods and tornadoes would rip through lives. We had loved ones
there.
AFTER THE STORM

The dawn brings reality and with that comes an almost unbearable truth for some.
Dreams have been destroyed, but life must go on and hard work is ahead. We had mixed
emotions; our friends and family were safe, and our property was largely undamaged,
but we had friends nearby who lost everything.

I noticed again what I had seen after Hurricane Frederic hit Mobile in 1979. People
change. Sharing, patience, and neighborliness begin to take hold as people are bonded in
common difficulty. Our neighbors had a large generator and shared power with us and
two other families to keep our refrigerators running. People were drawn together and
priorities changed in the storm.

I noticed that life goes on without lights, phones, or television. I noticed that more
people were praying and sacrificing for what really mattered. And I noticed that people
from other states came to share the burden. North and South became neighbors. And on
Sunday, tired people gathered where they could to worship and give thanks that they
were able to do so.

SPIRITUAL STORMS

There is a spiritual side of storms; more than I can describe. Yes, I know that storms are
the result of natural forces, but storms affect the spirit. They test our spirit and our faith.
I do not blame God for the storm, though instead I could blame the Evil One. There are
clear parallels between natural storms and the destructive forces that assail our lives.

Storms, natural and spiritual, come in the change of seasons. Spring brings tornados to
some areas and fall brings hurricanes, which also spawn tornadoes in other areas. In
September of 1979, when Hurricane Frederic came to us, we were moving to a new
home, and again this year we were. We sold our home this year to get cash for new
ministry projects: a school and an orphanage.

In many ways, it is a new season emerging through turbulence. In recent days, several
friends have passed on to be with the Lord. People die in spiritual storms too, and new
challenges face those that remain. Storms bring the unexpected. I have often said that
life is more defined by the unexpected, than the expected.

And, we have endured a great political storm here in the United States. Much has been
destroyed, but we have come to a new season. America desperately needs a renewal of
neighborliness. We must rebuild together.

LORD OF THE STORM

where will renewal come? To those of us who know the Lord, the answer is clear. When
the unexpected comes, He is not taken unaware. Like many who were unprepared for
Ivan, many are unprepared for the horrific trials that face us. The Scriptures teach us
that God can help us through and after the storm.

Matthew 14:23-33 tells of an occasion when Jesus sent His disciples across Galilee and
He remained behind to pray. As they sailed the familiar waters at night, a great storm
arose. They could make no progress against the raging seas. Even with all their sailing
experience and seamanship, they were terrified. Then, before the dawn broke, they saw
Jesus walking across the waters coming toward them. At first they thought they were
seeing a ghost.

Much could be said about this logic-defying miracle. But the point is that He
demonstrated His mastery of the storm, the winds, and the seas. Another occasion is
recorded in Luke 8:22-25. When Jesus was asleep in the boat during the storm, they
awoke Him saying, “Don’t you care that we are perishing?” He rebuked both the storm
and their fear and lack of faith.

Some may dismiss these stories as “myth,” but the disciples believed and confessed
Jesus as the Son of God. Their later impact upon history is no myth.

If we are going to have an impact on history, we too must remember that fear and
faithlessness stand rebuked before God. We must remember that Jesus Christ is Lord of
the storms. When we have done what we can, there is peace to be had in trusting in
Him. Wars or spiritual and physical storms do not change that reality.

THE EVIL STORM

Evil wears many faces. It is the intentional harm inflicted upon the innocent. It can
come militarily, economically, criminally, politically, or in some marital conflict. At its
roots lie fear, intimidation, and destruction. The evil storm, like the hurricane, comes as
a strong wind with great gusts and turbulence. It comes first from one direction and then
another, with dangerous debris flying through the air. Life itself is at stake.

Our society has been conditioned in recent years by secular pluralism: They say there is
no God or that He is irrelevant, and all religion is equally unimportant. “Good and Evil”
are not terms that are in vogue. To admit evil is to admit good, and that is too close to
admitting the sources of both.

The problem with this is what keeps happening: wars, crimes, and social tragedies
perpetrated by some malevolent individual or group. Hurricane Ivan lasted a few days;
Nazism a few years; Communism a few decades; and now radical Islam which has
lasted for centuries. Yes, Mohammed believed in conquest by the sword. Radical
Islamic cultures have and still do spread by fear and intimidation.

I was in Belgium when terrorist murderers struck the Russian School house. Hundreds
of innocents were killed. Those who call these people “freedom fighters” are worse than
naïve; whether it is Russia, Spain, or New York City, it is the same spirit. We face an
evil storm that has lasted and will last for years to come – it will be bloody,
intimidating, and divisive…that is Satan’s intent.

THE PROMISES OF GOD

Isaiah writes in chapter 25 about a storm of terrible foreign enemies, and he writes about
God’s help. He speaks of strength. Verse 3 says, “The strong people will glorify you.”
Verse 4 says, “You have been strength to the poor, strength to the needy in distress, and
a refuge from the storm.”
Later in the chapter he says, “God will swallow up death and wipe away tears from all
faces.” He prophesies victory. Strength and faith lead to victory. Remember, when Jesus
rebuked the storms, He also rebuked fear and faithlessness.

We are here today in our land, our schools, churches, and homes, because of God’s
grace and imparted strength to those who lived before us. Our way of life must now be
preserved the same way. God promises that the weak can become strong in adversity
(see Hebrews 11:34). Storms can make us stronger and better if we turn to Jesus Christ.

Our strength is not the foolish bravado of the untested or the fanaticism of mob fervor.
It is the quiet confidence of God’s Holy Spirit and confidence in His Word. The
righteous are as bold as a lion (see Psalm 28:1 and Isaiah 30:15).

I urge you not to be shaken as a sapling in the wind, but to build your house on the Solid
Rock. We cannot look to the nations. They will prove unreliable. We can look to the
Kingdom that cannot be shaken (see Hebrews 12:28). Jesus Christ remains the Lord of
the storm.

In Him,
Charles Simpson