Contrary winds (3)

The winds were contrary when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, they were contrary on their way to the promised land, and they were contrary when they got there. There is no such thing as a storm-free voyage. “Through…hardships and tribulations we…enter the kingdom” (Acts 14:22 AMPC). When you have to fight to stay afloat day after day, it’s easy to get discouraged. Paul said, “When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days…all hope…we would be saved was…given up” (Acts 27:20 NKJV). Maybe you’re weary and discouraged because of what you’re battling. You’re ready to call it quits – and humanly speaking, nobody would blame you. But before you give up, ask yourself this: what if God is the One engineering this storm to get me where I need to go? What if He is the One who “spoke and raised a stormy wind” (Psalm 107:25 NAS) so I would have to keep my eyes on Him? What if He is the One who “hurled a great wind on the sea” (Jonah 1:4 NAS) to see if I would keep the faith when I can’t see the far shore? A psalmist tells us God uses “fire…hail, snow…clouds [and] stormy wind” (Psalm 148:8) to fulfill His word. In Exodus 10, He “directed an east wind on the land all…day…and…night; and…it…brought the locusts…[He] shifted the wind to a very strong west wind, which picked up the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea” (vv. 13, 19 NAS). One author added, “When the Lord fought for Israel…stormy winds brought about their deliverance…And one day, by God’s great mercy, we too shall stand upon the sea of glass and see how stormy winds brought about our deliverance.”