Have you ever been in an earthquake? Our country is going through what could be called about a 7.2 on the Richter Scale. In the words of Jerry Lee Lewis, “There’s a whole lot of shakin’ goin’ on.” We’re almost sick of the news—home values are tanking, unemployment figures are rising, bankruptcies are common, savings accounts and retirement accounts are disappearing. We are reminded of the danger when we hear words like Iran, nuclear, Russia, Bin Laden.
It’s a dangerous and shaky world, but there are four rocks we can stand on in stormy times. Psalm 11:3-4 says, “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord is on His heavenly throne.” Yes, the foundations are being shaken and it seems like everything is caving in. What will the righteous do? Nothing. The Lord is on it! Nothing that really matters has changed.
God is the Lord of Human History
The number one rock we can stand on in the storm is that our God is the Lord of human history. We are so focused on the little dot we live in, but God has been managing the history of this planet for a long, long, time. America is like a toddler in the history of the world.
In Daniel 2:20-21, Daniel says to the then most powerful man on earth, Nebuchadnezzar, “Praise be to the name of God forever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons; He sets up kings and deposes them.” In chapter 4:17 he says, “The Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone He wishes and sets over them the lowliest of men.” Who’s in charge here? God sets up rulers.
Daniel watched the obliteration of his great nation; he watched Nebuchadnezzar, an arrogant, pagan king, prevail over the chosen people of God. Daniel was one of the bright young men looking forward to a great future, and he was suddenly swept up in all this devastation and taken to another land, given another name, and forced to learn another language. Our God is the Lord of human history. That is a rock you can plant your foot on.
God is the Lord of Every Outcome
The second rock you can plant your foot on is that our God is the Lord of every outcome. Cancer, heart conditions, recessions, depressions, terrorists—these things don’t decide what happens to a child of God. If you belong to Him, He is the Lord of every outcome.
David, while hiding out in his cave from King Saul with 3,000 people looking for him, wrote Psalm 57:1-2. He says, “I will take refuge in the shadow of Your wings until the disaster has passed. I cry out to God Most High; to God who fulfills His purpose for me.” Saul wants to kill him. God says He wants David on the throne. David sees no way—no path to the throne from this cave. But David serves the Lord “who fulfills His purpose for me.”
In Matthew 28:18 Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” Jesus is saying He has all the authority to decide what happens in your life; all the strength to accomplish what He has planned for your life; all the power to prevail in heaven and earth is His and you are His. That’s a rock to stand on in a big storm.
God is the Lord of Changing Seasons
The third rock you can plant your foot on in a storm is that our God is the Lord of changing seasons. Daniel 2:21 says, “He changes times and the seasons.” Marriage, children, death of a loved one...these all cause season changes in our lives. What’s good about God changing the seasons? In Deuteronomy 8:1-4 God says, “Be careful to follow every command I’m giving you today so that you may increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers. Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands. He humbled you causing you to hunger, and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known to teach you that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothes did not wear out. Your feet didn’t swell during these forty years.”
In these verses there are at least three things that God accomplishes by changing the season in our lives. Number one is pride-busting. You just have everything figured out, and then God does something to change the season. Secondly, is trust-building. He puts you in a place where you must trust Him even for the food you eat. Thirdly, changing seasons can be life-bettering. He took His ancient people through a wilderness because it was the way to the Promised Land. There’s no way to the Promised Land except through the wilderness, and there’s no way to Easter except through Good Friday.
God is the Lord of Sure Provision
Lastly, our God is the Lord of sure provision. Jeremiah 17:7-8 says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” God’s supply to you is not tied to the environment. If you’re not trusting in God, everything could be going great and you’re going to be hurting. If you’re really trusting in Him, it may be a year of drought, but your roots are down in the stream.
And so our job never changes whatever the storm blows away. We are to “be careful to follow every command I am giving you today.” In the words of Mary, Jesus’ mother, who should have known after thirty years with Him, “Do whatever He tells you.” We testify with the writer of Hebrews, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:19).