There's a storm blowing. It may have raging waves, and powerful winds trying to knock you off your feet. Perhaps the rain is threatening to flood your house, kill your crops, putrefy your water and wash out the road.

"That's some storm, Brother Jesse. Is it a hurricane?" Well, it might be.

Or it could be a tornado. Then again, it might be cancer. It could even be a financial storm.

You see, a storm may blow. It might manifest in any number of ways, but the storm has one purpose: To blow you off your faith walk. To whip you, make you frightened and weary until you just give up.

Give up what? Your walk with God. Your health. Your prosperity. Your family. Your ministry. More than anything else, the storm is designed to make you give up your faith, and rob you of God's blessings.

As surely as the sun rises in the east, storms of adversity arise in a Christian's life. Paul faced storms. Peter faced storms. John faced storms. Even Jesus faced storms.

How will you continue your faith walk when the winds of hell blow against you? (Because you must continue.) God never said we should hunker down and hide from the storm. We're told to go into the world. To press on toward the mark of our high calling in Jesus Christ. There isn't a clause for fair-weather followers.

You'll find the answer in the fourth chapter of Mark. Beginning in verse 35:

And the same day, when the even was come, He saith unto them Let us pass over unto the other side.

And when they had sent away the multitude, they took Him even as He was in the ship. And there were also with Him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake Him, and say unto Him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

And He said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?
(Mark 4:35-41)

The first thing I want you to notice is that Jesus made a simple request to His disciples. He said, "Look, I'm tired. I've been preaching all day, and I want to catch a few winks. I'm going to take a nap. You sail the ship to the other side of the lake."

But there arose a great storm. Jesus hadn't mentioned anything about a storm. "Well, Brother Jesse, do you think He even knew the storm was coming?"

Jesus is the Son of God! God always knows there are storms coming. It's the rest of us that are caught by surprise.

Notice this wasn't just a little storm. The Bible described it as a great storm. The waves beat against the ship until it filled with water. Jesus was so tired He slept through it. Finally, the disciples woke Him and said, "Hey! Don't you care that we're about to die?"

When Jesus woke up, the boat had filled with water, and His disciples were terrified. Yet, Jesus dealt directly with the problem. He didn't rebuke the disciples; He saved that for later. He didn't rebuke the boat. He didn't even rebuke the devil. The wind was the problem. He rebuked the wind, and spoke to the sea.

Peace be still. That's all. Three words. Not just any words. Three faith-filled words.

The Bible says that the wind ceased and there was a great calm. At least, the weather was calm. Then Jesus turned to His disciples. Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?

Wouldn't you hate to hear those words from Jesus? I would.

Refuse The Opportunity To Fail
When you're a Christian, the storms may blow, but your faith walk continues. Every storm offers you opportunities. The first opportunity it offers is for failure. Don't take it!

I faced a storm when I first started dating Cathy. "You want to take me skating Jesse?" Of course I wanted to take her skating, but I had a couple of problems. First, I didn't know how to skate. Second, I didn't have very good balance. But I really wanted to be cool, "Sure, I'll take you."

It was one of those old skating rinks with the wooden floor and a big, Masonite blade fan in the corner. I put on those skates and tried to pull myself around the rink by the rail. "You don't know how to skate, do you?" Cathy asked.

"No, but I'll learn." About that time some guy blew a whistle in my ear. "Come on, move! Get your hand off the rail!"

I took my hand off the rail...Wham! I hit the floor.

The storm was blowing. Cathy skated by and called, "Do you want me to help you?"

"No, I can do it," I answered, pulling myself up by the rail. "But how do you stop?"

"Put your foot forward and lean on that little rubber stopper." I started moving and then leaned on both stoppers at the same time.

Wham! I hit the floor hard.

The storm was blowing. Kids were skating by and laughing.

Finally, I got going. But I didn't know how to turn. Some kid pushed me and I headed straight for the fan, screaming the whole way. I hit the fan-rail with such force that it broke. I landed inside the fan and somehow managed to grab the blades.

Tweet! Tweet! Tweet! The whistle guy blasted at me and yelled, "Turn loose of the blades!"

"No!" I screamed. "That thing will eat my lunch if I turn loose!" By then, blue smoke poured out of the fan motor. It made an awful sound.

I burned up the motor.

They had to shut down the skating rink to get me out of the fan. The storm was blowing. I had cuts on my hands from holding those blades. Everyone kept staring at me saying, "You burned up the fan!"

That storm gave me a great opportunity to fail. But I refused to take it. I got up and dusted myself off. "Come on," Cathy said, "give me your hand." I put my hand in hers and let her guide me. After a while, I was gliding.

When you face storms in your faith walk, don't take the opportunity to fail. And never try to make it through alone. Reach out to the Holy Spirit. He'll take your hand and lead you through to safety.

Refuse The Opportunity To Sin
The second opportunity that storms present you is the opportunity to sin. The devil will try to convince you that the trouble you're facing excuses sin. Don't fall for it.

That's what happened to three Hebrew boys. Their names were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Those names are hard to remember so I made up my own. I call them Me-shack, Yo-shack and A-Bungalo.

All they wanted to do was serve God, but the devil wanted them to sin. They were given the opportunity to bow down and worship King Nebuchadnezzar, or be thrown into a fiery furnace. The storm was blowing!

Don't you know the devil worked overtime to remind them of all they had to live for? If faced with the same situation, a lot of folks would say, "Hey, don't get nuts with this thing. Bow now, and repent later!"

Those Hebrew boys didn't fall for it. The storm was blowing hard, but they refused the opportunity to sin. It made old Nebber so mad he heated the furnace seven times hotter. Then he said, "I'm gonna watch 'em burn."

He didn't figure on Jesus being there. That's where a lot of Christians miss it. Jesus is always in the fire. He's always in the middle of the storm ready to lead you to safety.

They came out of that furnace without the smell of smoke. It was a bad day for the devil.

Refuse The Opportunity To Lie
The third thing that storms offer you is the opportunity to lie. Sometimes when the wind is blowing hard, lying seems like an easy way out. I haven't faced many fiery furnaces, but I've been in situations where I was mighty tempted to lie.

I very seldom visit people's homes, but I was up in the northern part of the country and a lady invited me over for homemade gumbo. Now, good gumbo is an art, and it is a blessing to me so I decided to go. I could hardly wait.

We all sat down at the table and that dear woman gave me the biggest bowl she could find. I held my spoon while we prayed over the food. Then I took a big mouthful of gumbo.

It was awful. I mean, it was so bad a dog would refuse it. I didn't even know if I could swallow. Everyone was looking at me. Her husband was sitting there holding his spoon, waiting on my reaction. Her nine-year-old son held his spoon and waited. Finally the woman said, "Brother Jesse, is it good? Do you like it?"

The storm was blowing! I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to hurt the lady's feelings. I wanted to lie like a dog and say, "Oh, it's wonderful!" But I didn't want to go to hell over a bowl of gumbo either.

I thought real fast, and decided to ask God. The Lord spoke up on the inside of me and said, "Tell them the truth."

That's easy for you to say, I thought, trying to swallow that gumbo. The woman asked again, "Well Brother Jesse, do you like it?"

"Ma'am," I said, "this is trash."

Her husband threw his spoon down. "I know you're a man of God!" he said. "I know you are!" I was so shocked I couldn't say a word. "We've had preachers come over here and eat this trash. But you're the only man that told the truth. This stuff is no good."

"Well Honey," his wife said, "You never told me it was bad."

"I didn't want to hurt your feelings," he said, "so I prayed for a prophet of God to come tell you the truth."

When the storms are blowing—tell the truth.

Don't Grow Weary In Well Doing
I've learned something over the years. Most people don't miss God because the devil tripped them. Most people miss God because they get bone-weary tired of doing good. We're warned in Galatians:

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
(Gal. 6:9)

Are you standing in faith for your husband's salvation? Don't get weary about it! I don't care how long you've stood. It's his rotten luck he married you. Greater is He that is in you! The Bible says you'll reap if you faint not.

You know what happens to a lot of people? They believe God...and believe God...and believe God. Then when their prayers are finally, totally and completely answered they miss it. They're passed out on the floor. They got weary and gave up.

If Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had gotten weary of well doing, they would have missed out on one of the greatest miracles recorded in the Bible.

The storms may blow, but don't grow weary, because in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. If you want to reap your harvest, don't grow weary!

The faith walk continues....

Copyright © Jesse Duplantis Ministries
All rights reserved. Used by permission.