Faith in the Midst of the Storm!

My brother is a man of faith.  Many people come to a place in their lives where they realize that there is a supernatural force in control and they’re along for the ride. The more they tap into God’s super natural power that He offers each of us when we become committed to Him, the more exciting life becomes.  Like many people who have had their “Come to Jesus” (or to G-d) story, he’s had his share of health issues which have given him the humbleness that anyone gets when their life is challenged daily.  By true grit, and the power of prayer, my brother in spite of having one of the worst documented cases of scoliosis, he now lives a life of constant miracles. He’s alive which is a miracle on it’s own.   He’s also been given a gift of dreams and visions. We consider these miraculous.  

One miracle blew me away so much that I have told it on stage in public presentations. I’ve also told it to friends who doubted that their own prayers were effective.  I hope you find the story interesting enough to share and will pass it along.

In 2004 there were three serious storms( two were hurricanes) that hit Central Florida. One of the hurricanes was heading right to the path of my brothers’ house in Winter Park Florida.

My brother knew of the possible danger that lie ahead so he took immediate supernatural action. He headed outside to proclaim his property to be safe!  In an act of complete faith, amidst the thunder and lightning and rain that was starting to come, my brother went outside and did something unusual that caused the neighbors to ask what he was doing. He was standing outside his house and with his arms outstretched as if drawing a large mural ,he created an imaginary bubble over his house with his hands.

The neighbors joked and were curious.  He didn’t care. He kept going. Then he walked around his house at dusk..

7 times.

Just like in the book of Joshua 1:1-6:25 in the bible, in the story of Jericho.

The story goes like this:

The battle of Jericho featured one of the most astounding miracles in the Bible, proving that God stood with the Israelites.

After the death of Moses, God chose Joshua, son of Nun, to be the leader of the Israelite people. They set about to conquer the land of Canaan, under the Lord's guidance. God said to Joshua, "Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9, NIV).

Spies from the Israelites sneaked into the walled city of Jericho and stayed at the house of Rahab, a prostitute. But Rahab had faith in God. She hid the spies from the king's soldiers, and when the time was right, she helped the spies escape out a window and down a rope, since her house was built into the city wall.

Rahab made the spies swear an oath. She promised not to give their plans away, and in return they swore to spare Rahab and her family when the battle of Jericho began. She was to tie a scarlet cord in her window as a sign of their protection.

Meanwhile, the Israelite people continued to move into Canaan.

God commanded Joshua to have the priests carry the Ark of the Covenant into the center of the Jordan River, which was at flood stage. As soon as they stepped into the river, the water stopped flowing. It piled up in heaps upstream and downstream, so the people could cross on dry ground. God performed a miracle for Joshua, just as he had done for Moses, by parting the Red Sea.

God had a strange plan for the battle of Jericho.

He told Joshua to have the armed men march around the city once each day, for six days. The priests were to carry the ark, blowing trumpets, but the soldiers were to keep silent.

On the seventh day, the assembly marched around the walls of Jericho seven times. Joshua told them that by God's order, every living thing in the city must be destroyed, except Rahab and her family. All articles of silver, gold, bronze and iron were to go into the Lord's treasury.

At Joshua's command, the men gave a great shout, and Jericho's walls fell down flat! The Israelite army rushed in and conquered the city. Only Rahab and her family were spared.

So Terry marched. And as he marched, he prayed.  He prayed up a prayer that any Baptist preacher would be impressed with and he called upon the Lord, to save his house and his family that day.

He proclaimed his intention that “NO SHINGLE would be taken off the roof of his house”!  He prayed that “NO TREE would be HARMED and NO BRANCHES DOWN”.  HE even prayed that “NOT A BLADE OF GRASS WOULD BE DISTURBED” from his yard.

After his 7th trip marching around his house and calling out his prayer to the Lord, he went to the middle of his front yard and firmly planted a 2 foot American Flag in the ground.  He said in great faith to the heavens and to that FLAG.. “This flag will STILL BE STANDING AFTER THIS STORM”. And with that, he ran inside to avoid getting pummeled with rain.

He and his family of a wife and 3 children huddled inside a bathroom in order to stay in a safe place from the potential winds that could blow out the glass in the house.

When they lost power, they prayed, When they heard the wind gust upwards of 105 miles per hour come full force against the house, they prayed. When it sounded as if the roof was being lifted off of the house and shingles being ripped off, they prayed. Terry yelled out loud at the roof, “NOT A SHINGLE WILL BE GONE in the NAME OF JESUS.”  His faith remained strong, even in the midst of hearing the evidence outside. The wind howled, and the heavy rain from the hurricane was obviously doing serious damage outside.

Later that night, when the storm had passed, the neighbors all went outside to assess the damage. They were shocked and in a daze, but grateful to be alive.

Power lines were down all over the street, trees had crashed on top of cars, and were laying all over the neighborhood, sewage was running through the street,  and no way to drive because the road was blocked.   Cars were ruined, roofs had been lifted, shingles and shutters were no longer there.  The damage was severe to the neighborhood as well as to all of Central Florida. Out of 87 homes in Terry’s neighborhood, every roof was bare of shingles, and had to be redone.  Except Terry’s. His roof was perfect. Not a shingle missing.  Not one.   

As a matter of fact, there were other miracles. 

Every other house had trees down. But not Terry’s trees!

He had every tree in-tact.

 Every other yard had large branches down and yards cluttered with the mess.

But not Terry’s. Terry’s yard was perfect.

Not a blade of grass moved. Not a single shingle out of place. Not a branch out of place. And miraculously, remember the flag that he had planted in the front yard? THE FLAG WAS STILL THERE. It was still buried about 2 inches deep in the yard, and still waving proudly in the front yard.

Within minutes the neighbors all noticed that their yards were damaged horribly and out of 87 homes in the neighborhood, all had their shingles ripped completely off the roofs.  but the Gardner’s yard was perfect. They noticed that NO DAMAGE had come to his yard, and wondered out loud and complained loudly.

My brother in his bigger than life laugh told them, “well, you were making fun of me marching around my property and putting a bubble of protection around my home! But God knew that I was serious and He protected my family from the storm”. 

To this very day, when I wonder how I’m going to get all of my work done. How I’m going to pay all of the bills or stay strong enough for the stressful journey of life, I remember the flag, and my brother’s proclamation, that “NO DAMAGE will be DONE”.  And that “ALL WILL BE SAFE”.

God delivered on his promise that day. And he will deliver on yours. 

If God allowed Moses to use his faith to part the Red Sea, He can certainly help us to use our faith to calm the storms and to protect our families during difficult times.

As in the star spangled banner, that “the flag was still there”.. we can know that God does love us. He will protect us. And with the flag, we can remember, that we will always be protected, and our faith will make it so!

the Storm!