THE STORM OF THE LORD

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“See, the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a driving wind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back until He fully accomplishes the purposes of His heart.”

Jeremiah 30:23-24a

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

One thing we experience every day, just as much as we experience life itself, is the weather. It’s a constant point of reference for us because of the impact it has on us.

We are ever vigilant about things like temperature because it dictates the way we dress and sometimes what we will do and not do on any particular day.

We care about whether the day will have any precipitation in it or now because in paraphrasing an old expression, weather can literally rain on the parades we have planned. More than a few outdoor events have had to be cancelled because of rain, bringing disappointment to countless people who were looking forward to having fun outside. And let’s not forget frozen precipitation, like snow and sleet, and the havoc it can wreak when it falls, especially in volume. Many places have been brought to a standstill after several feet of snow fell.

Finally, we definitely care about severe weather because storms have the potential of being more than just a minor inconvenience. They can bring devastation and destruction, leaving lives turned upside down in their wake and even bring death in their most brutal forms. Think about hurricanes like Katrina which destroyed New Orleans and much of the gulf coast, tornados like those who brought so much damage to Oklahoma City several years ago, and floods that have inundated entire communities and left them underwater.

Do you know what insurance companies refer to these severe weather events as?

They simply call them, “acts of God”.

Interesting, huh?

People who seemingly rail against any use of the word “God” in public today never say a word about the way insurance companies connect storms to the Lord. But interestingly enough, the insurance companies are spot on for as we see in today’s scripture from the closing verses of Jeremiah 30, a clear reference is made to a “storm of the Lord” and it’s a storm that no one should ever want to experience. Look again at these words here:

“See, the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a driving wind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back until He fully accomplishes the purposes of His heart.”  Jeremiah 30:23-24a

Note here that God’s word wants us to know several things about the storms the Lord brings:

1. They are born out of His anger and wrath.

“The storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath.”

The Lord brings judgment on His people in many ways out of His deep hatred for sin and wickedness, both which are pervasive in our world today. There is no place that is a sin-free zone and so it should come of no surprise when the storms of the Lord come down, bursting out in His wrath.

2. They come on the wicked.

“The storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a driving wind swirling down on the heads of the wicked.”

“Why do bad things happen to good people?”

It’s an expression we hear often, particularly in the wake of a storm where demolition and ruin comes indiscriminately on everyone and so many victims are seemingly innocent.

But think about it for a moment.

Is anyone really innocent in God’s sight?  

I’m not talking about a “standing-before-God-as-a-Christian-with-a-Jesus-intercession-moment-taking-place-to-rescue-us-from-judgment” moment. I’m talking about a “standing-before-God-during-worldly-life” moment as a “sinner-who-deserves-God’s-discipline-and-consequences”.

And we’re all in that category. All of us.

The Israelites, the focus group of this scripture in Jeremiah, certainly were, having decided it was fine to disobey God’s commands and worship false gods and idols. Their disrespect and disregard of God brought His storm on them.

Our respective sinful acts could be similar to the Israelites or of any other variety. The verdict would be the same for the Lord will bring His storms swirling down on the heads of the wicked.

3. They will not stop until the Lord accomplishes what He set out to do.

“The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back until He fully accomplishes the purposes of His heart.” 

The Old Testament Israelites in Jeremiah’s day experiences a storm of the Lord that lasted seventy years, the length of time they were in exile in Babylon. That’s a very long time to be in the driving, swirling winds of God’s wrath but that was the time God had sent in order to accomplish the purpose of His heart.

How long will our storms last when the Lord brings them?

Only He knows but one thing is for sure, He will see that His intentions are achieved before He pulls back His wrath and causes His storms to subside and disappear.

Friends, the word of God is sending a real warning to us today, letting us know that God will not stand for sinful wickedness in the world He created. We had better listen and do what we need to do to live every second of every minute of every hour of every day in His righteousness. For as the scriptures tell us in Hebrews:

“It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:31

Allow Him to lead and guide your every thought, word, and action, and you can remain in the sunshine of God’s favor and out of His most devastating storms.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
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