He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. Psalm 107:29-30
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
The salvation story of Jesus Christ reaches around the world. So that the readers of our Daily Devotion may see the power of the Savior on a global scale, we have asked the volunteers of our International Ministry Centers to write our Friday devotions. We pray that the Spirit may touch your day through their words.
In Christ, I remain, His servant and yours,
Kenneth R. Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
Between the hustle and bustle of serving hungry customers, the hostess and co-owner of a Thai restaurant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, reflected on the course of recent natural disasters in her homeland.
"Why are there horrible mudslides that kill people near Bangkok?" she pondered. "And the tsunami that killed so many? And now, the terrible earthquake and volcano in Indonesia? What is wrong with our world? What is happening?"
Her questions were deep and sincere, yet they went unanswered before she rushed back to the kitchen to bring out the next bowl of hot soup.
The same questions could be asked of natural disasters around the world.
No single country is unique to these natural phenomena. Tornados and hurricanes may prevail in North America, while earthquakes or typhoons punish Southeast Asia. We are all on an ever-shifting, ever-changing planet. While one day the seas are calm, the next they are rough and stormy.
And so it goes with our everyday life: the death of a loved one; the loss of a job; nations ravaging each other in war; or famine starving frail bodies to dust.
The book of Revelation tells us these natural phenomena are reminders of Christ's return and that it will be soon.
While we mourn the death and destruction, they are reminders of hope -- that we will be guided to our "desired haven" as the psalmist wrote. In other words, our faith in Jesus Christ leads us to our desired heaven as promised to all who believe in Him.
Faith in Christ teaches us not to fear the storm, but to trust in Him, seek His will, and let Him calm the storm in due time.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, teach us to be still and know that You are God, so that we might be prepared, when it's time, to always praise You in the storm. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Biography of Author: Today's international devotion was written by Gary Penner of Concordia Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Penner went to Thailand with a Lutheran Hour Team committed to help in the Tsunami Boat Building Project. Opening its ministry center in Bangkok in 1991, Lutheran Hour Ministries-Thailand is known in-country as Journey Into Light (JIL). It utilizes mass media technologies to proclaim the Gospel, while supporting local churches and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod missionaries. In addition to serving others through LHM's Bible Correspondence Courses (BCC) and Equipping the Saints (ETS) program, five 30-minute radio programs are broadcast daily to the citizens of this Southeast Asian country of nearly 70 million.
To learn more about our International Ministries, click here or visit www.lhmint.org.
In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible Readings: 1 Samuel 23 Psalms 54 Psalms 63 Luke 22:47-71
To Download Devotion MP3 to your computer, right click here and select "Save Link As" or "Save Target As" or "Download Linked File As"