Through the Storm

The Old Way 

None of us knows what lies ahead for us. Life can be good one minute and suddenly it changes. When my friends and I had a prayer retreat on Lundy Island in October 2019, the weather had been balmy and warm all week with the sea like glass; little did we know it was the calm before the storm.

Stormy Days

On the day we were due to leave, we awoke, with no warning at all, to a force seven storm. The wind was so violent as we stood on the jetty that we were literally knocked sideways and had to cling onto one another for safety. Once on board the small ferry, the items we took with us had to be tied together in the middle of the boat in order to protect us from it being thrown from one side to the other, as the boat heaved and tossed with the colossal swell of the waves.

We were unable to reach our original destination and were diverted to a more sheltered harbour for safety’s sake. The ferocity of the storm appeared to come out of nowhere.

Earlier in the week, as I had been walking on the island, the Lord told me clearly that before long I would be walking a more isolated and difficult path, one in which I would have to dig deeper in my relationship with Him because there would not be anyone else to rely on.

We have drifted so far away from God’s Word and His standards that the choice is stark: either turn back or face judgement.

I never imagined then, that in just a few years’ time, my life would change suddenly, overnight, when I woke up one morning to find my husband had died in the night. Just like the storm on Lundy, this appeared to come out of nowhere. Yet, by God’s grace, I am walking day by day with His help.

There is a storm of far greater magnitude that is ahead for us all and we are going to have to negotiate it the best way we can, with God as our faithful covenant partner alongside. Just as in the days of Jeremiah, our nation and the world stand at a crossroads. We have drifted so far away from God’s Word and His standards that the choice is stark: either turn back or face judgement.

Jeremiah addressed an Israel who had resolutely not turned and who were therefore suffering the ignominy of 70-years’ exile in Babylon. We also face an uncertain future as God works out His end-time purposes to finally overthrow the spirit of Babylon and bring as many as will submit to Him – not just in Britain but throughout the nations of the world – into a relationship with Him. 

Strength of Relationship

What many of us fail to realise is that which was on God’s heart as far back as the Garden of Eden is still on His heart today. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the One who does not and never will change, and whose purposes from the very beginning will stand. The ancient way of walking with Him is the same way Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus walked. It is the way of covenant relationship He has ordained and has now provided for us in Jesus’ blood.

He has always longed for a people who would walk with Him day by day in simple humble, meek, obedience, friendship, fellowship and companionship. 

One day during the imposed lockdown of the Coronavirus epidemic I went for my permitted daily walk. The sun was warm and the afternoon was glorious so I walked high onto the disused railway along the head of the Eden Valley where I have lived for many years. I sat down close to the summit and suddenly my mind was filled with the wonder of God’s enduring covenant love and His heart for relationship with us, right from the time of the Garden from which our valley takes its name.

He has always longed for a people who would walk with Him day by day in simple humble, meek, obedience, friendship, fellowship and companionship. My heart began to race as I poured out my worship - the overflow of a deep gratitude - for His faithfulness, especially in the provision of His only Son Jesus so that I could have the possibility of living and walking in this relationship myself.

As my heart burned, I realised He had rekindled within me a flame of passion for Him and the things of God I had allowed to grow dim. At that moment of submission and refilling with the Spirit’s oil, I clearly heard the voice of God say

“This is the lesson I brought you to the Eden Valley to learn. It’s all been about this - to walk with Me. Seek My face and glorify only My Name, then My covenant Light - the true ‘Old Light’ from Eden - will truly shine and be seen in you.”

This is the very simple ancient way. It is the way of peace and rest.

Declare His goodness into the spiritual atmosphere over your life.

Additional reading: Exodus 33:12-22; Isaiah 60:1-3.

As we reach the conclusion of this devotional, imagine standing on the lamp platform at the top of the lighthouse and declare His goodness into the spiritual atmosphere over your life.

Rededicate yourself completely - heart, mind, emotions, will and physical body - to God.

Invite Him to fill you afresh with His holy oil and so to set your heart on fire so you can burn for Him.