I remember the first time I rode the ‘Shockwave’ rollercoaster at Kings Dominion.  I’d traveled across state lines with the teen-aged children of 2 friends so I could fully enjoy the experience. (No one my age wanted THAT Experience!) I remember getting there and the park was overflowing with people.  We knew the wait times would be horrendous, but we put a good face on it and entertained ourselves to pass the time.  I vividly remember the dismay of those 4 youth when suddenly clouds rolled in and huge raindrops began to shower us.  We immediately ran for shelter like everyone else – accepting the quickest covering we could find.  The following conversation was subdued as park-goers accounted for those in their groups and prepared to leave the park.  My young friends were so disappointed – we’d driven for hours and hadn’t ridden one ride.  I smiled at my young friends and said, “I’ve seen this before.  Let’s get something to eat.”  Puzzled, they shared their tastes in food and we decided on our lunch spot.  Finally one was brave enough to ask, “Aren’t we leaving? It’s raining and everyone else is going home.”  Once again, I smiled and said, “I’ve seen this before.”  We were enjoying a peaceful lunch, having some great conversation, when one of the gentlemen said, “Hey… It stopped raining!”  I smiled again and said, “I told you, I’ve seen this before!”  Needless to say, when Kings Dominion gave the ‘All Clear’ for the rides to power up again, we’d had a great time of fellowship, had allowed our food to at least partially digest, and walked up to the line for ‘The Shockwave’ with no waiting.  We road over and over again until our hearts were content.  We’ll never forget that day!  For all of us, whatever attraction we wanted to ride on there was Free Access – No Waiting!

Many times we prepare ourselves for the things God has promised us and when we get in the neighborhood of our blessings, the conditions will change.  We’ll be positioned to receive a great blessing and then walk away from the blessed place because it ‘looks like’ we won’t have access to what we’ve been believing God for.  Like the park-goers, we abandon the place of blessing because it ‘looks like’ the park is going to close due to inclement weather.  No one in authority ever told us that the park was closing.  No one in authority ever told us that we had to leave.  People saw the condition change and decided that the access had changed – so they walked away.  How many blessings have we abandoned not because God said we couldn’t receive them, but because we judged the condition of the climate instead of believing the God Who controls the conditions?  How many times have we, like Peter, heeded the call from God to come, but in the midst of the coming, abandoned the call by yielding to the conditions?

Storms will come, but God wants us to learn to believe His word about our circumstances.  God wants us to mature to the place of resting ‘in the storm’ knowing that what He said shall be in spite of the storm.  When we learn to wait through the storm, God will bless us with additional benefits.  He wants us to get to the place where we can stand on what He said, be confident in Him and say, “I’ve Seen This Before!”  When we learn to wait through the storm, God will bless us with additional benefits.