Pastor’s Weekly Refuel

POWER AFTER THE STORM

Ephesians 3:20-21*

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.

I watched with interest as Hurricane Ike slammed its way into Texas, ravaging shoreline homes in Galveston and roaring its way to Houston and beyond. Water surged some 14 to 20 feet along the coastline, debris was tossed and thrown everywhere in its wake. Many homes were completely destroyed, roofs torn off, windows were shattered, trees were uprooted; mobile homes obliterated; boats tossed ashore – it was truly a mess. We praise the Lord that there was minimal loss of life as this Category 2 hurricane made landfall.

The biggest challenge facing most in the hardest hit areas was the loss of power. Immediately after the storm an estimated 4 million people from Galveston to Houston were without power. Even now almost one week after landfall, hundreds of thousands are without electricity. That makes life difficult trying to exist without air conditioning in the stifling heat of the summer. It also makes it near impossible to keep food from spoiling without refrigeration.

We have all had big storms that have roared through our lives. These storms have thrown us for a loop. Many of us have lost almost everything. The windows of our lives have been shattered, though not beyond repair. Our lives and livelihoods have been uprooted and the debris from our neatly packaged existence has been blown everything. But the one thing we can say as children of God is that we never lost power (Acts 1:8). We may have felt powerless. We may have felt that we were in the dark with no way of finding the light, but the reality of our situation is we always have power, “incomparably great power” (Ephesians 1:19) and we always have the light.

Jesus said in John 9:5 that while he was in the world that “I am the light of the world.” He also told us in Matthew 5:14 that “we are the light of the world”. As long as God is with us, and he said he would never leave us (Deuteronomy 31:6), we have light. And as long as the Holy Spirit reigns in our lives, we will also have power active and at work in us (Ephesians 3:20). We don’t have to wait on F.E.M.A., we don’t have to depend on the Red Cross, we don’t have to hope for the Salvation Army. All we have to do is “look to the hills from whence cometh our help” (Psalms 121:1). No matter how hard the winds blow, no matter how high the water rises, no matter what destruction our natural eyes may see, we serve a God of immeasurable, unlimited and surpassing great power who is always working on our behalf.

I can tell you this from experience, if you are not in a storm or just coming out of a storm, there is a storm on the way. But be encouraged. Be bold and courageous because we face each storm knowing that the name of the Lord is a strong tower and we can run to it and are safe (Proverbs 18:10). Our experience tells us that “in the day of trouble, he will keep me safe in his dwelling, he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock” (Psalms 27:5). There we are safe and there we have power. So after the storm, we should have peace that surpassing all understanding (Philippians 4:7), wanting for nothing (Psalms 23:1) knowing that we serve a loving God, who is our all and all.

Be Blessed, Be Thankful, and Be Powerful in the Lord,

Pastor Marvin R. Wamble

Shiloh Community UMC

12695 Shiloh Church Road

Newburg, MD 20664

Don’t forget to tune into the “Shiloh Hour of Pray Power on PrayLive each Sunday night from 10-11 p.m. EST by calling 443-524-9880 or go to www.praylive.com

Also, First Lady Anita Wamble teaches a dynamic Bible Study on PrayLive each Sunday night from 9-10 p.m. EST

Join us at Shiloh Community UMC for Sunday morning Worship Service at 10:30 a.m.