By ‘Gbemiga Olakunle
“And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And He was in the hinder part of the ship asleep on a pillow and they awake Him, and say unto Him, Master, carest not that we perish? And He arose and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, PEACE BE STIL. And the wind ceased , and there was a great calm “- Mark 4: 37-39, KJV.
Advanced English Dictionary describes Storm as a violent weather condition with winds 64-72 knots (11 on the Beaufort scale) and precipitation and thunder lightning.
Apart from windstorm, other types of Storm are Rainstorm, Hailstorm and Firestorm – all depicting extreme violent weather conditions.
In the same vein, Storms of Life can be described as unfavourable life conditions of extreme dimension. It can be financial, marital , health wise and even a combination of any of these adverse life conditions that can manifest in the life of an individual, family and even a Society. It can be sudden or gradual before it gathers a momentum.
Since the occurrence of most Storms are sudden, calming them down depends on who is accompanying us in the boats of our lives before it happens. If the person has the required power and authority that the Storm can respect and bow to as described in the Scripture quoted above, it will be easier to survive it. Otherwise, it may linger on unnecessarily and its effect may have dire consequences except the people concerned quickly cry unto GOD for His mercy and quick divine intervention.
In a related development, there is no doubt that our beloved Nation – Nigeria is passing through some socio- economic and political storms of varying degrees of severity. We are still battling with some self- inflicted security challenges and issues related to Food Security. Thus making indices of poverty and hunger to remain high in the midst of flagrant display of wealth opulently in certain quarters.
In spite of all these, we shall continue to thank GOD for the gifts of life, good health and the relative peace that He has granted us in this Nation. And as we beckon and invite Him into the boats of our lives as individuals and corporately as a Nation, He will surely step in and calm down our respective storms in JESUS Name.
Shalom!
‘Gbemiga OLAKUNLE, JP, General Secretary, National Prayer Movement
