The Manifesto of Ernesto

By Missey Butler
Guest Writer

CBN.com - Here we go again. You would think by now, that the life long residents of the East Coast would somehow get used to the hoisting of the hurricane signal flag that flies furiously within the torrential howls of the menacing gales!

Those red and black pennants warn us that treacherous weather is on the way … and every year we watch the skies with a weary eye and our property with a worried look.

This season seems to be especially ominous with the televised memorials of scenes from last year’s catastrophic Katrina still re-running in our minds.

As I sit here typing at my computer, I can even hear the sounds of Ernesto’s fury beating against the building. I notice my fellow co-workers continually getting up from their desk to peer out the windows with watchful concern, as the conversation centers around the safety of family members at home.

I stop to listen for the Spirit of the Lord. Immediately, I begin to hear the reassuring words of Jesus when He said, “Peace, be still.” Suddenly my own heart is quieted once again, like a weaned child lying in the arms of his mother as I meditate on these words:

Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a terrible storm came up, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went to him and woke him up, shouting, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown! And Jesus answered, 'Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!' Then he stood up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly all was calm. The disciples just sat there in awe. 'Who is this?' they asked themselves. 'Even the wind and waves obey him!' "

I don’t know about you, but I sure take comfort when I read: “Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

All of us “coastal’s” who might somehow give you the impression that facing these storms is no big deal, have to be honest and admit that we have learned “Who” it is that we need to trust when it comes to our loved ones and our homes.

It is our Lord and our Protector, the One whose mighty voice commands the very seas!

“Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm,'Who defined the boundaries of the sea as it burst from the womb, and as I clothed it with clouds and thick darkness? For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores.' I said, `Thus far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!' '

It is time we all rest in the knowledge that our loving God has set the boundaries of every storm in our lives, so we really have no need of fear, only faith in the one who commands the winds the waves … Be still.