The Storm is Passed

Romans 8:1 – “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

Far out at sea a man was standing by the rail of a small ship. He was filled with anxiety as he watched a mass of billowing clouds illumined by shafts of lightning. Just then the skipper of the vessel came along. Noting the troubled expression on the face of his passenger and the black sky in the distance, he quickly offered some words of assurance. “You’re not concerned about that storm, are you?” he inquired. “If you are, you can relax and forget your worries. It’s already passed and can do us no harm!”

The storm reminded me of another “storm” that is passed. I thought of the time when the wrath of God was poured out in all its fury at Calvary. What an awesome and terrifying sight that must have been! The Lord Jesus, although perfect, assumed our guilt and bore the awful penalty we deserved. As He hung suspended on a cross between earth and sky, the sun was darkened, and the rocks were rent asunder. The tempest of God’s judgement had broken out upon His own blessed Son! Even now the contemplation of that dreadful hour causes us to shudder. Yet, as frightening as that spectacle may have been, we can be at peace, for that “storm” has passed! In fact, it has provided a way of deliverance from eternal condemnation and now brings the blessings of grace to all who believe and receive Christ as Savior.

The sinner, however, who has not received Christ as his or her personal Savior, still has reason to fear; for a day is coming when the ominous clouds of God’s judgement will finally burst upon an unbelieving world. But those of us who have taken refuge in Christ are secure. For the saved, the storm is past!