CONTRARY WINDS? BE VIGILANT, BE ALERT!
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com (YouTube: Wade Hughes)
I have a large piece of paper with an E PAINTED RED. (RED…E)
VIGILANT, TAKE HEED, PAY ATTENTION, HEAR THE WARNING? VIGILANT: HERE, I COME READY OR NOT…
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Matthew 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Be vigilant just like that. You have no idea when the Son of Man is going to show up.
Revelation 3:2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
EVER NOTICE SEEMS LIKE THINGS ARE AGAINST US? LIFE IS FULL OF CONTRARY WINDS AND WAVES… THE WINDS AND THE WAVES TRY IN FEAR TO BATTER AND SINK OUR SHIPS…
Matthew 14:24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
Get rid of the excessive baggage. It is not how much water your boat is in --- What really matters is how much water is in your boat. Daily menial chores can seem like opposition and divorce. Life is hostile at times. This is not what I expected. Seems the wind is an opposite situation than I desired. We must have TRUST AND FAITH… God will always remember his people. CONTRARY WINDS WILL CEASE SOONER OR LATER.
BEWARE WE WILL FACE STORM SURGES: a rise in the water levels that occur during tropical storm, tornadoes and hurricanes. Storm surge is an unusual rise of water to dangerously high flooding levels… While the winds rage high there is often hidden dangers to bring lasting damage by the storm surge. The force of the wind is driven by extreme pressure. The surge can grow to 17 to 20 feet above the normal levels. In 1899 in Australia there was a 40 feet high surge that reached up to 10 miles inland. One must find refuge above the storm’s water.
THERE CAN BE AN INTERESTING PHENOMENON THAT CAN TAKE PLACE IN STRONG STORMS THAT CAN PLAY GAMES WITH OUR EMOTIONS. SOME REFUSE TO ACCEPT A FLOOD IS COMING… REVERSE SURGE.
Just before landfall the winds and pressure force the water levels to RECEDE. WE LEARN A LESSON REVERSE STORM SURGES CAN CAUSE THE WATER LEVELS TO RECEDE… The ocean waters can retreat and expose land that is normally under water…
THIS LULL BEFORE THE STORM CAN BE DANGEROUS AS PEOPLE LOVE TO SEE THE BARE LAND TO PICK UP SHELLS, CRABS AND TAKE PICTURES. JUST AS SUDDENLY AS THE WATER LEVEL DROPPED IT CAN COME BACK JUST AS QUICK AND CATCH PEOPLE NOT EXPECTING THE WATER SURGE AND THIS CAN DROWN MANY.
HEARTBEAT? DO WE EVER SAY: THANK YOU? DO WE EVER GET TIRED AND WEARY? DO WE EVER LISTEN TO HEAR THE HEART BEAT OF GOD?
John 13:23 Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.
On the average your heart beats around 70 times a minute, 100,800 TIMES A DAY. That would be about 37,000,000 times a year. Over a 70 year period OF TIME… 2,590.000,000, 2 ½ BILLION TIMES.
2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
The church does not need governmental approval, political approval, academic approval, medical approval or social approval. We must strive for the approval of the WORD OF GOD. If God be for us…
Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
WE HAVE A HIDING PLACE, A REFUGE. WE HAVE A GOD THAT IS EVER READY TO HELP US IN SEASONS OF TROUBLE. WE MUST LIVE IN THE MOMENT.
There was a young boy that loved to go to church. He asked his GRANDFATHER, CAN I LIVE RIGHT FOR MY LIFE TIME? Pappy said: NO! You cannot live right for a life time. The boy thought about it and came back to ask his Pappy, Can I live right for a year? Pappy replied, that is impossible, to do for a year? Then the boy asked: How about a month? NO! NO! was the answer? How about a week? After much thought Pappy said: No, one cannot not live right for a week? A day? NO! The boy sat by the potbellied stove and prayed. He returned to his Pappy and asked: HOW ABOUT A MOMENT? After Pappy thought for a long time he answered: YES! YES! IF YOU TRY REAL HARD YOU CAN LIVE RIGHT FOR A MOMENT! Then the little boy climbed up in Pappy’s lap and said: PAPPY, I AM GOING TO LIVE FOR THE LORD ONE MOMENT AT A TIME! I CAN DO IT, PAPPY!
THE STORM? KNOW THAT THE STORMS ARE TEMPORARY! KNOW THIS ABOUT OUR HELP THAT COMES FROM THE LORD. OUR HELP IN TIMES OF TROUBLE IS IN THE PRESENT TIME, NOW IS THE TIME, CURRENTLY.
Present: BEING THERE NOW, CURRENT, existing or occurring NOW. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow may never be. We have today. We must focus and concentrate on the NOW.
Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
If we will invite Jesus in our heart, he promised to be with us…in our times (seasons) of trouble. What have I to dread? What have I to fear? In floods? Droughts? Sickness and in health? We have no reason to fear! THERE IS AN INVITATION TO COME FOR A PRESENT HELP. We do not have to face the troubles and storms by ourselves.
EUREKA! I FOUND IT! IS THAT DUMB? I HAVE FOUND IT… THEN IT DISAPPEARED… EUREKA IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOU! WE SEEM TO HAVE BEEN DEFEATED… MAYBE THIS STUMBLING BLOCK IS REALLY A GREAT STEPPING STONE!
NAPOLEON HILL WROTE THAT THE MOST FREQUENT HABITS THAT BRING FAILURE IS THE ACT OF QUITTING… Napoleon wrote of his uncle R.U. Darby. He tells that Darby heard of the GOLD RUSH. Darby decided to travel west and find gold and get rich. He sold all he had and began his RICH TRIP. He staked a claim, purchased picks, shovels and prepared for his GOLD MINE! Darby worked hard day and night. He was so hungry for gold. He worked so hard by hand. After weeks of working Darby finally found a gold nugget. So he hid his claim and returned to Williamsburg, Virginia and he shared his FINDINGS OF GOLD with his family and friends: EUREKA, THERE IS GOLD, WE WILL BE RICH.
Many of Darby’s friends invested to buy the machinery he needed. They shipped the machines… After he worked a few hours HE HIT A VERY RICH VEIN OF GOLD… This was so exciting. A few more days of digging he could pay back all his friends and be rich. THE VEIN OF GOLD DISAPPEARED… NO GOLD! They drilled, dug and dug… THE RICH VEIN OF GOLD WAS GONE… They could not find the gold. So after weeks and weeks of NOTHING, NOTHING BUT SWEAT AND HEARTBREAK. Darby came to the conclusion there is no gold here.
DARBY DECIDED TO QUIT. He sold the equipment for pennies on the dollar. Darby found a JUNK DEALER and sold him all the equipment. Darby bought a train ticket and returned to Virginia a quitter and a failure. The JUNK man kept the equipment on Darby’s site. He consulted with several experts about the fault line. The junk dealer fired up the equipment. HE DUG 3 FEET, 3 FEET FROM WHERE DARBY QUIT… DARBY QUIT 3 FEET SHORT OF A MAJOR GOLD FIND…
Darby paid back everything he borrowed. He then said: I QUIT 3 FEET SHORT… BUT I REFUSE TO QUIT AGAIN…Darby started selling insurance. HE TOOK HIS 3 FEET SHORT AND QUITTING to a new field. He started selling with a great attitude. He became one of the top 50 insurance salesmen in the USA. He did not let his QUITTING AND FAILURE CONTROL HIS ATTITUDES. He was so good that he consistently sold over a million dollars a year insurance.
CONCLUSION: DEVELOP A NEW LOVE LANGUAGE OF JOY, PEACE AND HOPE. DEFEAT CAN BE TEMPORARY. Don’t take the easy road. Your feelings, emotions and attitudes can become a “HEAD HEADSHRINKER'S LIFESTYLE” going through very hard and difficult seasons. You can take the wrong road to the wrong place at the wrong time end up in big trouble. Our trail can lead through depression, anxiety, worry and hopelessness… WITH A GIVE UP, I QUIT… WHAT’S THE USE? Things will never change?
We must REINFORCE ENCOURAGEMENT AND EDIFYING. Learn the language of encouragement. SPEAK ENCOURAGEMENT IN DIFFICULT HARD TIMES AND SEASONS. Learn to speak praise to others. Be quick to applaud others. Be quick to speak encouragement. Learn to write encouragement. Learn that helping others is part of the love language. SPEAK GOOD WORDS. Say the right word, at the right time and in the right place.
Proverbs 25:11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com (YouTube: Wade Hughes)
