Jeremiah
30:23-24
“Behold the storm of
the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling
tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. The fierce
anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has executed and
accomplished the intentions of his mind. In the latter days,
you will understand this.”
Storms have a fearful connotation in
that they bring with them the fear of devastation and even death. Living
on the Texas coast, there was the underlining fear of hurricanes in the Gulf of
Mexico, and the possibility of losing your home, and your stuff, even if you
left for safety. Hurricane Carla, September 10. 1961 was the
largest and most intense Gulf Coast hurricane in decades. That was the
year I graduated from High School, and a friend and I got some Red Cross
armbands and with them got passed the police roadblocks so that we could go
down to the T-heads in Corpus Christi. No one ever said teenagers
were all that smart, I recall my hat blowing off and going down the steps of the
T-head and grabbing it before the massive waves took it out, really
unintelligent.
On September 20, 1967, I was serving in
the National Guard and Hurricane Beulah, came to visit with 20” of rain in a
short time and reported winds of 136 mph. I got to play soldier and
rescue people in Robstown, Texas from their flooded homes. But it
was in 1970 I was married with a one-year-old little girl that we
experienced a life-changing storm. Hurricane Celia hit
Corpus Christi on August 3, 1970, and was one of the most destructive
storms to ever hit Texas, with damages estimated at $1.6 billion (in 1990
dollars).
On that morning as I prayed the Lord gave me clear instruction on what I
should do, and the message was to take my family and leave, and we were
not alone Thousand others did the same. We were young in our faith,
and I need to
share that for months God had parked me on 1Thessalonians 5:18, “in everything give
thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” And I was faithful to do so
in lost sales and flat tires, but that day when we pulled up to our mailbox and
100 plus yards back where our home was, we saw destruction, and I hear a voice
in my head that said, “now give me thanks.” I did, and Jan believed that
I had lost my mind, but it was a “But God” moment, for He
began to show us that He was all-sufficient.
In Jeremiah 30:23-24, this storm is like none other mankind has
experience, it did not happen in Jeremiah day, nor has it happen yet. But
it is coming, I do not have the date or the time, but this I’m sure of, the God
of Promise, has said, and it will take place. You and I need mercy; we
have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But God, (l love
those words) has made a way of escape in His Son, Jesus Christ and the finished
work on the Cross.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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