Clouds (Chambers)

Reading for Friday 29th July 2011

WHAT DO YOU SEE IN YOUR CLOUDS?

Behold, He cometh with clouds.
In the Bible clouds are always connected with God. Clouds are those sorrows or sufferings or providences, within or without our personal lives, which seem to dispute the rule of God. It is by those very clouds that the Spirit of God is teaching us how to walk by faith. If there were no clouds, we should have no faith. "The clouds are but the dust of our Father's feet." The clouds are a sign that He is there. What a revelation it is to know that sorrow and bereavement and suffering are the clouds that come along with God! God cannot come near without clouds, He does not come in clear shining.

It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials: through every cloud He brings, He wants us to unlearn something. His purpose in the cloud is to simplify our belief until our relationship to Him is exactly that of a child - God and my own soul, other people are shadows. Until other people become shadows, clouds and darkness will be mine every now and again. Is the relationship between myself and God getting simpler than ever it has been?

There is a connection between the strange providences of God and what we know of Him, and we have to learn to interpret the mysteries of life in the light of our knowledge of God. Unless we can look the darkest, blackest fact full in the face without damaging God's character, we do not yet know Him.

"They feared as they entered the cloud . . ." - Is there anyone "save Jesus only" in your cloud? If so, it will get darker; you must get to the place where there is "no one any more save Jesus only."
Revelation 1:7

A Grade of 86

Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Gal 5:16

And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Gal 5:24

Much grace is needed, when we would hurt others to make ourselves look good.  Much grace is needed when we desire the approval of others.  Much grace is needed when pride becomes our practical god.  We can be living in the lust of the flesh and not even realize it.  Many times we are blind to our own self righteous and approval seeking pleasures. 

The works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outburst of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murder, drunkenness, revelries, and the like....those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Don't glaze over this list.  Watch you life.  Watch your reactions to circumstances.  Watch your interactions with others.  Ask God to reveal these fleshly works and desires. 

Thankful for Grace that covers my sin.  Thankful for a Savor who provides forgiveness and cleansing.  Thankful for grades that reveal my heart.  Thankful to Christ who has made a way of escape.  God could turn His back on us and leave us to our self satisfying pleasures. Yet, He is faithful in growing us and changing us into His likeness.  Open your eyes and watch.  Repent and turn to Christ.  He is a real alive person, who will come and invade your life.  Invade my life Jesus.  For I am thankful you show me my sin.  I am thankful you do not leave me in my state.  What great mercy, yesterday proved!  I am thankful indeed for a grade of 86. 

But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.  Gal. 6:14

Repentance

REPENTANCE

Turning from sin and turning back to God

REPENTANCE

Confessing I've been wrong and God is right

REPENTANCE

Willing to come to God to deny my own will and selfish motivation

REPENTANCE

Laying down my own agenda for God's agenda

REPENTANCE

Receiving His mercy,grace, love and peace

It is not difficult to drift away in the ocean of life; to awake and see how far we have drifted from the shore line.  But unlike living in the ocean the struggle back can be easy if we repent.  God is able to carry us to the shoreline of His presence. 

I am thankful God does not leave us in our rebellion of sin.  It is by His mercy that He draws us back into His presence.  Open your eyes to see how far you have drifted.  Cry out to God to open your heart to be able to see as He sees. Don't live in condemnation.  Repent and begin fresh and new once again.  What mercy!

If we confess our sins,

 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins

and to cleanse us from all unrighteouness. 1 John 1:9

Jessica Ann Hatcher

Life can take unexpected turns when you least expect it.  That is what we experienced

today, as we attended a funeral.  A beautiful 18-year-old young woman lost her battle with cancer.  I did not know this girl, but my Kolby did.  We made the trip to Edmond, Oklahoma as an encouragement to my sister and niece and of course closure for Kolby. 

Jessica Ann Hatcher…I did not know you.  I have never met you, but you have made an impact on my life.  Your short life on this earth had a purpose and you accomplished God’s will.   I am sure you were met with these words, “Well done good and faithful servant.”

The funeral was a combination of great grief, sadness, encouragement, and rejoicing.  It was just emotionally challenging. The family and friends were grieving greatly at the loss of Jessica, yet Christ was lifted up, and stories were told of Jessica’s faith encouraging others to walk with the Lord.  You see, Jessica’s dad spoke. He shared that Jessica led him into a prayer of surrender at her bedside to our great Lord.  Jessica’s life had meaning and purpose.  She was dying yet her concern was not on herself but on her lost dad and friends.  God is using the life of Jessica to encourage my heart to live purposefully for Him.

Jessica’s life counted.  A couple of days before she passed from this life to be forever in her Lord’s presence, she called family and friends together to encourage, love, and say goodbye to them; Just an example to live by.

Her dad made an impacting statement.  I am paraphrasing because I cannot remember the exact words but it was something to this magnitude: “Don’t let it take something like this for you to find your faith.”  The pastor addressed the dad to explain, he had received a great blessing from the Lord.  Jessica was a gift and I am told she impacted several lives. 

A rough count of 42+ people made a profession of faith today at the funeral.  The pastor shared the gospel.  He made a great point.  You don’t come to Jesus to make you happy and to remove your pain.  You come to Him in surrender.  Salvation is a commitment and relationship to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Jessica lived her life with no regrets.  Family and friends hoped and expected God to heal Jessica on this side of heaven.  God had other plans and His plans are bigger than we could ever hope for.  Yes, life can and will take unexpected turns when we least expect it.  God shows up, changes hearts and glorifies His name among His children.  Thank you Jessica for living your life out before us. You will be missed.

Random Questions

Listed are random questions, I am asking myself this morning.

I wonder if the circumstances occurring in my life are furthering the Gospel of Christ?

Are my circumstances due to my sin or a a witness against Christ?  Both can further His kingdom; it depends on how you react to them.

Am I striving to change my circumstances (wanting more or less money, less pain, more blessings, etc) or am I learning to be content in whatever state I am in?

Are others receiving encouragement and confidence in grace by watching me walk out the hardship and blessings in my life?

Is Christ magnified in my life by the way I live?  Will He magnified in my life by the way I die?  He must be magnified in my life as I live or He could never be glorified in the way of my death.

Am I standing fast with others in unity, working together for the faith of the gospel?  Am I consumed with my problems, hardships, and blessing or am I consumed with Christ?  It has been granted to me to believe and also to suffer for His sake.

Am I walking in selfish ambition or conceit?  Am I of humble mind, esteeming others better than myself.  Am I looking out for your interests?

Am I doing all things without complaining and disputing, shining as lights in the world?  Am I holding fast to Christ, the Word of Life, so I may rejoice in the day of Christ?

Friend don't try to change your circumstances but walk through them in worship, crying out to the ONE who has power over your very life and death.

Oswald Chambers Devotion

The devotions of Oswald Chambers continue to minister to my heart.  God uses His words to break through dark clouds hanging over my head.  I pray He does the same for you.

The Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends —Job 42:10

A pitiful, sickly, and self-centered kind of prayer and a determined effort and selfish desire to be right with God are never found in the New Testament. The fact that I am trying to be right with God is actually a sign that I am rebelling against the atonement by the Cross of Christ. I pray, “Lord, I will purify my heart if You will answer my prayer— I will walk rightly before You if You will help me.” But I cannot make myself right with God; I cannot make my life perfect. I can only be right with God if I accept the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ as an absolute gift. Am I humble enough to accept it? I have to surrender all my rights and demands, and cease from every self-effort. I must leave myself completely alone in His hands, and then I can begin to pour my life out in the priestly work of intercession. There is a great deal of prayer that comes from actual disbelief in the atonement. Jesus is not just beginning to save us— He has already saved us completely. It is an accomplished fact, and it is an insult to Him for us to ask Him to do what He has already done.
If you are not now receiving the “hundredfold” which Jesus promised (see Matthew 19:29), and not getting insight into God’s Word, then start praying for your friends— enter into the ministry of the inner life. “The Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends.” As a saved soul, the real business of your life is intercessory prayer. Whatever circumstances God may place you in, always pray immediately that His atonement may be recognized and as fully understood in the lives of others as it has been in yours. Pray for your friends now, and pray for those with whom you come in contact now.

Soldier of Christ

I am working through vignettes--scenes of life--attempting to break down my heart's motive in behavior and thought process.  In other words I am seeking the Lord to know what rules my heart; Him or a pleasure seeking idols. 

Also a verse came to mind as I was praying for some dear friends who face a difficult situation today.  As I was reading the context around this verse the Lord spoke to my heart.....

All of us have some form of anxiety playing out in our lives and minds.  We may not be ruled by the anxiety but it does raise it ugly head in our lives at times.  Think of what bring you the most anxiety and look at 2 Timothy 2:1-36

You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ² And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. ³ You therefore must endure^[a] hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. ⁴ No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. ⁵ And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶ The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. ⁷ Consider what I say, and may^[b] the Lord give you understanding in all things.
⁸ Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, ⁹ for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. ¹⁰ Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
¹¹ This is a faithful saying:                                         

      For if we died with Him,
We shall also live with Him.
       ¹² If we endure,
We shall also reign with Him.
      If we deny Him,
He also will deny us.                             
       ¹³ If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
      He cannot deny Himself.

Approved and Disapproved Workers

 
¹⁴ Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. ¹⁵ Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. ¹⁶ But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. ¹⁷ And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, ¹⁸ who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some. ¹⁹ Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ^[c] depart from iniquity.”
²⁰ But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. ²¹ Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. ²² Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. ²³ But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. ²⁴ And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, ²⁵ in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, ²⁶ and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

How can I be living in anxiety if I am about my Father's business of teaching faithful men to teach others.  How can I live in anxiety, if I desire to endure all things that others may come to know Christ?  I cannot engage myself in the affairs of this life, if I have been enlisted as a soldier of Jesus.  Think about the most obvious thing that causes your anxiety and pulls you away from your Lord and engaging yourself in His work.  You have been called as a soldier of Jesus Christ.  You must be strong in the grace of Him, to please Him who enlisted you.  You must play by His rules not your own.  You must be diligent to know the Word and how to share it with others.  You must labor intensely walking strong in the grace of Christ.  I don't see laziness and self seeking pleasures in any of this.  What brings on the most anxiety?  I think with me...it is not getting my selfish pleasures and desires met as quickly as what I want them met.  How about you?  What brings anxiety?  Are you about your Father's business, being sanctified and set apart for His useful work?  Have you fled youthful lusts?  Are you able to teach, patient in humility, correcting those who are in opposition?  Are you able to pray as one with the Lord that others may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.   I pray daily we put on the armor of Christ and seek to please Him not ourselves.

He's My Son~Pray For Brayden

Today's blog is dedicated to this baby boy. As you watch this video and read the words below from his mother, would you lift this boy's name before our great and merciful Lord?

Sometimes no matter how many prayers we pray, or how many tears we shed, or how many hearts get broken. God says no, because God has a better way and answer.

Really emotionally exhausted... after the wait this morning we found out what we took in as good news, only hours later to speak with the Radiologist Oncologist and find out that this is not going to stop the cancer. The cyro and laser will only temporarily slow down the vitreous seeding (the small tumors that are forming) but it won't be able to control it long enough to keep it from spreading. Then the option of radiation has only a 40% success rate once vitreous seeding has started, and can triple the chance of a secondary cancers. Plus we have to look at how much damage has been done by all of the previous cryo and laser treatments to know if the eyes could even handle the radiation.

So where do we go from here....?

We come back in 3 weeks, and by what the RO explained to us at this point it is not a matter of IF he will need radiation or an eye/eyes removed, it's a matter of WHEN.

I'm finding it very hard to take all of this in. I knew we had a chance of losing his eyes, but when does the madness end? When will the night come that I can lay my head down and no that my baby won't have to suffer? I don't want that day to be the day I lose him to this awful thing.

I am so sorry to all of you who follow Brayden's journey and feel like we are forcing you take this emotional rollercoaster ride with us. Please know that we understand if at this point you need to get off. Unfortunately, we don't have the same option.

I have complete faith in GOD and his plan for Brayden's life and ours. There are just times when the mom in me can't help but want what I think is best for my children, but at the end of the day I except his WILL

The three weeks are now. Brayden goes the 22nd of June for his test. Will you ask God to comfort this family. To wrap His arms around his mom. I have walked through a child with cancer. My heart will never be the same and neither will this young mother. We know this great God we serve is on the scene and He is working to bring His grace, peace, and strength to this family. God loves Brayden more than his parents even could. He promises good and we trust Him even if it looks bad at the moment. Would you dare to ask for a miracle of complete healing for this baby? Nothing is impossible for God.

Hiding, Hurting, and Mercy

It seems several of my friends are hurting.  I can see the pain on their faces, the tears in their eyes, and the walls of protection they have erected around themselves.  Watching this unfold in several lives hurts my heart, for I do love these people so.  I recognise pains and walls in others lives, because I know them so well in my own.The walls of safety or retreating inside myself for protection is something I face often. 

I am praying for you this morning.  When you become desperate enough in your situation, you will cry out to God.  Not necessary for Him to deliver you from your circumstance but to deliver you from yourself.  So many times we are like the turtle, hiding in our shell, thinking we are protecting ourselves from the circumstance around us.  God is your only protector and He is your only defender.  Don't be like the turtle, cry out to Him for mercy.  Cry to God to break down the walls around your heart.  Lay your circumstances aside, understanding this world is not your home. You have a Savior that loves and cares for you.  He has not left you.  Come as a child at the Lord's feet and cry out to Him.  He knows your heart and your pain.  Lay yourself bear and weep.  Beg and plead.  Be desperate enough to realize He is your only hope.  "Unless your law had been my delight, I would have perished in my afflictions." Ps. 119:92  And continue going back.  Do not leave Him alone until He has mercy upon you, continue, asking, hoping, trusting, and waiting.  He will move and answer!

Mediate upon the following passages:

 The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed,
         A refuge in times of trouble.
 ¹⁰ And those who know Your name will put their trust in You;
         For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You. Psalm 9:9-10

 I waited patiently for the LORD;
         And He inclined to me,
         And heard my cry.
 ² He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
         Out of the miry clay,
         And set my feet upon a rock,
         And established my steps. Psalm 40:1-2
        
 My soul, wait silently for God alone,
         For my expectation is from Him.
 ⁶ He only is my rock and my salvation;
         He is my defense;
         I shall not be moved.
 ⁷ In God is my salvation and my glory;
         The rock of my strength,
         And my refuge, is in God. Psalm 62;5-7

O God, You are my God;
         Early will I seek You;
         My soul thirsts for You;
         My flesh longs for You
         In a dry and thirsty land
         Where there is no water.
 ² So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
         To see Your power and Your glory. Psalm 63:1-2

 ¹⁶ Hear me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good;
         Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies.
 ¹⁷ And do not hide Your face from Your servant,
         For I am in trouble;
         Hear me speedily.
 ¹⁸ Draw near to my soul, and redeem it;
         Deliver me because of my enemies Psalm 69:16-18

 Oh, do not remember former iniquities against us!
         Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us,
         For we have been brought very low.
 ⁹ Help us, O God of our salvation,
         For the glory of Your name;
         And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins,
         For Your name’s sake! Psalm 79:8-9

Psalm 86 - My favorite!

Unless the LORD had been my help,
         My soul would soon have settled in silence.
 ¹⁸ If I say, “My foot slips,”
         Your mercy, O LORD, will hold me up.
 ¹⁹ In the multitude of my anxieties within me,
         Your comforts delight my soul. Psalm 94:17-19

Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
         I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
 ¹⁵ He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
         I will be with him in trouble;
         I will deliver him and honor him.
 ¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him,
         And show him My salvation  Psalm 91:14-16

Unto You I lift up my eyes,
         O You who dwell in the heavens.
 ² Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters,
         As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
         So our eyes look to the LORD our God,
         Until He has mercy on us.  Psalm 123:1-2

Friend, please don't stop asking, looking and seeking until He has mercy upon you!  Remember there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus.
        
        

Is God enough?

Is God enough for me?

Am I willing to lose all to gain Christ?

If all things were removed from me,

my family, my finances, my health, etc.,

 would my relationship with God

 be enough for me to survive emotionally?

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in^[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead

Philippians 3:7-11

What about you?

Is God enough?

Grateful

In Sunday School we are still working through Priscilla Shire's book on Jonah.  At the pace we are going it could take us a year to complete.  I love this group of ladies.  God has bonded our hearts together and He is meeting needs as we meet each week.  I can't say thank you enough for the unity, love, and sharing that goes on in the back room. I am blessed week after week and stand amazed at His grace in these ladies lives.

Tomorrow we are looking at a lesson in gratitude.  I love the point Priscilla makes, "Jonah was in a desperate situation and yet his prayer was not for deliverance.  It was a prayer of deliverance.  He was expressing his gratitude to God for the preservation and protection He had already graciously allowed the wayward prophet."  "His vow to the Lord was a promise to praise Him even though he did not know how the Lord would allow the circumstance to work itself out."

I wonder about us.  Can we praise God in the middle of difficult situation?  I know my prayers are usually for God to deliver me.  I am attempting to move past that and offer God a sacrifice of praise.  Friend we must get to the place we are grateful.  Grateful we have a God who never leaves or forsakes us.  Grateful if God removes everything from us, we will still worship and praise Him.  Grateful if He never answers another prayer, we are content being His child.  Wow! If I have this mindset the things of the world lose it hold on me. 

In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thess 5:18

One more thought and I may be rambling here...but we need to be more desperate for the presence of God in our lives than asking Him to deliver us from our present circumstances.  We must desire Him above all.

Stop Striving!

Sometimes the most spiritual thing I can do is go to bed.  Sounds strange?  Let me explain. I am taking an online class, Dynamics of Biblical Change.  This class is challenging to me spiritually because it deals with change in my own life before I even begin to help other people.  The terminology is different than what I am used to and that in itself causes challenge.  I have listened to the lecture several times over the past week and I thought I had it down, that is until I tried to write the paper.  My brain was dead.  No words would come and the most difficult thing for me was the quietness of the Lord.  I am not sure about you, but I don't function well if I don't feel the Lord's presence and hear His voice.  The more I tried to hear and write the more closed off God seemed to be.  

This I recall to my mind,
      Therefore I have hope.
       ²² Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed,
      Because His compassions fail not.
       ²³ They are new every morning;
      Great is Your faithfulness.
       ²⁴ “ The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,

      “ Therefore I hope in Him!”

Lamentations 3:21-24

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;

 I will be exalted among the nations,

 I will be exalted in the earth.”” Psalm 46:10 NIV

I believe these two verses explain.  I stopped striving.  I went to sleep, hoping and expecting the Lord to reveal Himself in the morning.  He is faithful to Himself and His word.  He spoke.  My paper is complete.  Friend don't continue making grace happen by your own striving.  Seek the Lord.  Rest in Him.  Sleep if that is what it takes to stop.  But stop and trust.  He will provide in His own timing. 

Chambers Devotion

This must be one of my favorite Chambers' devotion, since I tend to go back to it several times a year.  I thought you might like it also.

 

The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him . . . —Psalm 25:14

What is the sign of a friend? Is it that he tells you his secret sorrows? No, it is that he tells you his secret joys. Many people will confide their secret sorrows to you, but the final mark of intimacy is when they share their secret joys with you. Have we ever let God tell us any of His joys? Or are we continually telling God our secrets, leaving Him no time to talk to us? At the beginning of our Christian life we are full of requests to God. But then we find that God wants to get us into an intimate relationship with Himself— to get us in touch with His purposes. Are we so intimately united to Jesus Christ’s idea of prayer— “Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10)— that we catch the secrets of God? What makes God so dear to us is not so much His big blessings to us, but the tiny things, because they show His amazing intimacy with us— He knows every detail of each of our individual lives.
“Him shall He teach in the way He chooses” (Psalm 25:12). At first, we want the awareness of being guided by God. But then as we grow spiritually, we live so fully aware of God that we do not even need to ask what His will is, because the thought of choosing another way will never occur to us. If we are saved and sanctified, God guides us by our everyday choices. And if we are about to choose what He does not want, He will give us a sense of doubt or restraint, which we must heed. Whenever there is doubt, stop at once. Never try to reason it out, saying, “I wonder why I shouldn’t do this?” God instructs us in what we choose; that is, He actually guides our common sense. And when we yield to His teachings and guidance, we no longer hinder His Spirit by continually asking, “Now, Lord, what is Your will?”

Storms and People

Alma had a small tornado last week which uprooted some very large trees.  The trees fell on houses, cars, sheds, and fences, thankfully no person was injured.  Tonight at Southside Alma, we had a great opportunity to minister to the people whose uprooted trees were a constant reminder of the storm. 

A team of men went out with chain saws to remove the trees.  A team of women with coke and popcorn in hand went door to door asking to pray for the people involved in the storm.  A good evening, I think so. 

We saw people moved with emotion as we prayed for them. We visited with children who come to Wednesday Evening service.  We visited with a moms whose son was leaving for the Marines or whose husband had walked out on them.  It is our prayer these people will come to know Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.  It is our desire that Christ"s great love was shown through us tonight as we interacted with each person. Guess who received the biggest blessing: We did.  My heart is full and it just seems right to be out and about interacting with these great people.  Can I say I am thankful for the storm?

My day began good and ended well.  I am looking forward to the days ahead of walking with Lord and doing ministry with this great group of people.

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but^[a] have eternal life." John 3:14-15