The year A.D. 2015 according to the Gregorian calendar, or 5775 according to the Hebrew calendar, is the Year of the Whirlwind. It is a year when everything is about to change, there is acceleration of events. For some it is going to be very exciting times, whereas for others it is going to be very challenging times. The line is being drawn in the sand and you will be on one side or the other, when the winds blow.
I live in the Midwest, and here we have a warning signal that goes off on the first Wednesday of the month at 1 PM, as a test to make sure the signal is working and so people know what the warning signal sounds like. I believe God is sending warning signals to His people all over the world right now, telling them a storm is coming. We see it on the news with the rise of various terrorist organizations, we see it in our falling gas prices, we hear about it through events in Ferguson, Missouri; Paris, France; and Malaysian airplanes. Jonathan Cahn wrote about it in his book called TheHarbinger, Mark Biltz speaks of it in his book called Blood Moons, and the Bible is talking about in Luke 6:46-49.
The Bible tells us that we are to be able to understand the seasons we are living in. I believe we are living in the best of times and the worst of times. I also believe our choices determine which of these times we are and will be living in. But God is giving us plenty of warning signals that the storm is coming, so we can make adjustments in preparation for the storm. If we can see the dark clouds forming, the wind picking up and can smell the rain, it is time to prepare for the storm.
I have known for a while and have been speaking that a storm is coming, but I never could pinpoint what it was going to do. Some people speak only judgment, while others speak only glory and good things, I was torn between the two thoughts, knowing it was both, but I was unable to discern what the purpose of the storm was. Then today as I was reading my Bible, the Lord revealed to me that the storm is coming to reveal our foundation. Luke 6:46 says, "Why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?" This is not a rhetorical question, Jesus is making a statement of truth: Many call Him Lord, Lord, but very few actually do what He says. Jesus is asking us, right now, today, why do you call me Lord, Lord, (master, owner, authority) and not do what I say?
As I was meditating on this question, the Lord spoke to me and said, "It takes courage to follow Me." Many people follow leaders, pastors, other people they can see, but very few are following the Lord, for to follow Him takes courage. Jesus went on in this passage to describe two houses, one was built on a foundation, the other was built on the ground. To lay a foundation, you have to dig deep down to the rock, but to build on the ground, no digging is required, all you have to do is start building. Both are houses, both look the same on the outside, but when the storm hits, one will stand and the other will collapse.
A storm is coming, what you have built your house on will be seen, for the storm is coming to expose what is under the house, which most cannot see. Without discernment you cannot know what something is built on, for it looks like a house to the naked eye, but the storm is coming and some houses will stand and others will collapse.
The foundation that will withstand the storm is relationship. A love relationship with the Lord casts out fear (1 John 4:18), builds trust and produces obedience. The only foundation that will withstand the coming storm is one of love, for if you have not love, you are nothing (1 Cor. 13:1-3). Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6) and faith works by love (Gal. 5:6), so you have faith, hope and love, but still the greatest of these is love (1 Cor. 13:13). A storm is coming, but love wins!
Lisa Great, author of Divine Principles of Success, pastored a church in Malaysia. She is a minister and blogger at Mouthpiece Ministries.
