The Eye Of The Storm

“…The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron sceptre. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne”. 

Revelation 12:4-5 (NIV UK)

Years ago I remember reading a sermon by an early 20^th century preacher. It was about the eye of the storm. His theme was that just as the safest place is in the eye of the storm, so the safest place in the storm of history is at the birth of Christ. Human history is like a vast, fast-swirling, destructive whirlwind but in that stable in Bethlehem all was calm, peace was on earth – it was the eye of the storm. 

The Bible tells us that Satan was furious at the idea of Christ’s birth. His anger knew no bounds. He inspired Herod to slaughter all male children in Bethlehem who were less than two years old. He wanted to “devour” the child. “Devour” is a strong word. In the wild, when a lion consumes its victim, there is little evidence of the kill. “Man-eating lions, if undisturbed, commonly eat almost every vestige of their victims, even the blood-soaked clothes as well as the bones”[1] .

 Satan wanted to eradicate every shred of evidence of Christ’s existence, to suppress the very news of his birth so that we would not know that our Saviour had been born. Regrettably, some Christians, in their understandable frustration with the shameful commercialism and selfishness of Christmas celebrations, are in danger of unwittingly expressing solidarity with Satan. They want to stamp out any and every celebration of Jesus’ birth rather than express solidarity with “the multitude of the heavenly host” that proclaimed and sang “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:13‑14).

 Thank God that Jesus was safe: our Saviour lives! The storm of Satan’s fury did not destroy him. Actually, Satan’s fury is now directed towards believers. He wants to devour us (1 Peter 5:8) so that we will be remembered no more before God. Our life is like a storm whipped up by our own mistakes, by society’s evils and pressures, and by Satan’s desire to extinguish the flame of our faith. For us, where we find peace is with that child laid in a manger all those years ago. The child, who grew up and was crucified, rose from the dead and ascended to the throne of God. Jesus is our peace – he is the eye of the storm for us. 

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you that you are our peace, and that when life is too much for me, I can find rest and solace in you.

Amen 

Study by James Henderson