“When the Storms of Life Are Raging”
John 15:1-8 – “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” (KJV)
God said, “I am the tree and men are the branches.” God is not looking for those branches that would easily break away from the tree. Rather, He is looking for those spiritual branches that would remain connected to the tree. He is not looking for those who would give untimely birth to their fruit. Rather, He is looking for those who would conceive and bear fruit, and those whose fruit would remain until the harvest time.
There are times when the heavy winds and rain of a storm cause leaves to fall and branches to break off trees. There is a spiritual storm that is coming, and anything that is weak will be easily broken. There is a demonic wind that is beginning to blow that will only get worse. Those who are not wrapped up, tied up, and tangled up in Jesus will surely fall. The wind is blowing. Yet, men are taking this wind for granted, because they think that it will soon pass. Father, I know that you are that man in the midst of the storm.
Many houses contain buit-in storm windows as a protective provision, just in case there is a storm. How is your prayer life, just in case there is a spiritual storm? Upon what or upon whom is your life built?
There is such a falling away in the Body of Christ. God said, “As the branch is severed from the tree by the wind of the storm, so are My people being severed and cut off from Me by the demonic wind that comes from the spiritual storm.”
The storms of life are raging and the billows are tossing high. In order for mankind to stand while the storms of life are raging, they have to hold onto Jesus. They have to be secured in the arms of Jesus. So many have heard of Jesus, and talk of Jesus, but they do not know Jesus. If you do not know Jesus, how can you hold onto Him? To hold onto Him you have to be close to Him. You cannot hold onto Him from a distance, because your grip would not be secure.
There are times in a storm when the wind is really blowing. When the branches of a strong tree are blown by the wind, they bend, fly, and slap back and forth in the direction of the wind. When you would think that they would break due to the force of the wind, they bend to the ground and bounce back up again.
There is only one way that mankind can bend, hit the ground and bouce back up again in the midst of the storm, and that is by maintaining a secure hold onto Jesus. Maintaining a secure hold onto Jesus does not mean letting go of Him when the storms of life are raging, but it means holding on to Him regardless of the severity of the storm.
When an individual is holding onto something, they can easily let go of it when their hand becomes tired. Yet, when Jesus is holding you, He will never let you go. We are the ones who let go and pull away from God.
© Vera E. Paul, All rights reserved, use only with permission
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