Peace in the ... Storm?
11:17 AM Thursday, March 25, 2021
The light on the cars is from a motion sensitive light that normally only comes on at night.
On Thursday, March 25, the forecast showed thunderstorms all day, and a quick look outside at the dark clouds seemed to confirm the meteorologists' predictions.That day, we were planning to shoot the fourth episode of our new show titled “Glimpses of Jesus”. In this show, we’re taking a deeper look at the character of Christ through immersive storytelling. Through stories shared in the Desire of Ages, we pray this show will give people a clearer understanding of Jesus and spark in their hearts a desire to know Him more.Throughout preparations for the show, God has made it clear that this project is His plan. We have come to expect challenges, along with blessings, whenever He gives us special projects, so we weren’t exactly surprised to see the clouds rolling in.Nevertheless, severe storms during tornado season in Tennessee are not something to ignore. Many of our crew members asked whether or not we were still planning to record that night as they were unsure it was safe to go.Wanting to follow God’s will and not our own, those of us at the JFA office gathered together to pray. As we discussed the situation we were facing, the Lord brought stories to our mind, like how God once split a storm in half to protect the attendees of the very first FaithCamp or how a brother in the Philippines chose to honor the Sabbath over protecting his onion crop from a storm. After the rain fell, all his neighbors’ crops were damaged, but his property had not been touched.We were encouraged by these examples of God’s faithfulness, and as we prayed, God’s peace surrounded us. We knew we needed to move forward with the shoot. God would provide just like he had before, in His perfect way.
As the day went on, the weather reports warned that this storm was the worst anyone had seen since 2011’s historic tornado outbreak, and the risk of another large tornado was high. In addition, the worst of the storm was predicted to hit right when we were supposed to film. However, we stood firm on our conviction to continue moving forward and prayed for enough crew members to come.That evening, despite their earlier concerns, almost our entire crew showed up. The clouds were still gray and the rain was heavy, but we were not worried. God had even arranged that day’s topic, "Peace in the Storm," to perfectly complement the weather. We were sure the thunder would make a nice addition to the story of the disciples, seemingly alone on that stormy lake till Jesus came to them walking on the waves.We started filming, and those of us in the studio were a bit surprised actually when the sound effects never came. But God was doing something outside.The moment Gem welcomed everyone to that day’s episode, the rain stopped, the dark clouds gave way to blue skies and sunshine, and the birds started to sing. The rain stayed away until the show ended, and right at the last we heard the slow roll of distant thunder. We praised God together for this beautiful miracle of holding back the storm.
Outside the studio shortly after we started filming. God is Good!
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Even when the storm came back, the force of it was much less than expected, and our area never experienced any tornadoes. Later, one of our crew members who wasn’t able to make it that night, shared that while it was raining at his home, he could see the clear spot God had made for us down in the valley where the studio is.This story of shelter and preservation is just one of the many ways God has shown that His hands are over this project. He has a message to share with the world, and we are incredibly humbled and blessed to have a small part in this work.Please continue to pray for “Glimpses of Jesus” as we film our last four episodes next week and begin editing it. Please also pray for God to be glorified in the lives of those who will soon be watching it.You can watch the raw, un-edited footage from the show now on our Facebook page. Keep a lookout for when the final versions are available.