We are going through the book of Mark in church right now.  Last week we talked about Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4.  While Reid was speaking the Lord gave me the following devotional kind of thing:

"Storm Advisory"
Mark 4:35-41
    
    On October 24th, 2005, I was in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida as Hurricane Wilma made landfall as a category 3 storm.  As early as a week prior to the storm's arrival the government and newscasters warned the public that the storm was approaching, and urged us to prepare ourselves.  Satellite images were broadcast on the news all week allowing no room to deny that the storm was heading directly for us.  We knew we needed to do everything in our power to prepare ourselves for the coming storm.  On Monday morning the hurricane hit.  (If indeed "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned"  I wonder what provoked Wilma to such a turbulent rage.)  The fiercest part of the storm, the eye wall, passed directly over us, thus when we emerged from the house we found our street almost unrecognizable.  Water, trees, roof tiles, cars, power lines, and other debris filled the streets.  The roof of the house directly behind us had caved in, flooding the entire thing, the house across the street had a tree fall through it's roof and also flooded out; the only house in eye-sight that remained unscathed was ours.  Over the next couple of weeks people rushed to the stores to stock up on supplies, but the shelves were empty.  They begged the government to rush food, water, and other necessities to their homes, but the number of people in need far exceeded that which the government could provide.  I looked on in astonishment as the people began to lash out at the government for being ill-equipped to provide immediate relief.  They knew the storm was coming, were told to prepare for it, failed to do so, and blamed the government for something that was their fault alone.
    As I read the story of Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4:35-41, God reminded me of my adventure in Hurricane Wilma.  The same day He showed that "even the wind and the sea obey Him," Jesus told the parable of the sower and the seed, and described the forms of opposition, the "storms," that come against those who hear and receive His word (4:15-19).  In the same way that the weather forecasters did not claim that Wilma might come, Jesus did not claim that His disciples might face storms, but guaranteed that they would.  He issued a "Storm Advisory" urging them to prepare themselves for those days.  Therefore, when, just hours later, they awoke Him in a panic, Jesus responded surprised and disheartened that they were shocked by the storm they were in the midst of.  Also, when Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea the disciples stood astonished at His might, although they had already seen Him heal a leper, make the lame walk, cast out demons, etc…and heard Him speak on the power of faith.  Yet they stood amazed?  Even though Jesus knew the storm was approaching He did not stop it from coming, but allowed it to reach them because He knew they needed another lesson in faith. 

-  Am I prepared for the storms that I know I will face in the course of my life in Christ?
-  Like the people in Florida blamed the government for not being equipped, do I blame God for not preparing me for the storms that come into my life, when in fact it is my fault for not preparing for the storms that He has guaranteed I will face?
-  How can I prepare for these storms?
-  When I know that "all things are possible with God," and that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," why am I astonished when God calms storms and perform miracles in my life?
-  What is Jesus trying to teach me in the midst of my storms?