Storms… Thirty minutes ago, it was hailing. The rain was pouring down, thunder was booming, lighting flashing…power flickered off and on, interrupting the routine of my morning….
Now, the sun is shining, the sky is a bright blue, the birds are singing… The storm is past.
There is a song I like to sing, “I will praise You in this storm…” Life has so many storms. My will is to praise Him… even in the middle of those storms. But it’s hard. My will often crumbles when life’s storms come. It’s hard to hear that still small voice over thunder. It’s scary when it’s dark and threatening….and I am unsure of what He is doing to calm the storm…or if He will….or even if He is close by.
I choose to believe, yet often pray like the father in Mark 9:24. “I do believe…help me overcome my unbelief!” I know what He has said, over and over… “Never will I leave you..”(Heb.13:5) “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid of terrified …for the Lord your God goes with you, He will never leave you or forsake you”(Dt. 31:6) “The Lord Himself goes before you..”(Dt. 31:8) “No one will be able to stand up against you…I will never leave you or forsake you..”(Joshua 1:5)
The power for my survival is HIS power, provided to me thru The Holy Spirit. That power never flickers, it never has an outage or shortage…but sometimes I’m prone to yank the plug, disconnecting myself. It is never Him who deserts me, “..The Father will give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever…” (Jesus, in John 14:16)
I continue to be tutored, learning that just because I don’t understand, or ‘see’ His Hand at work…just because I don’t recognize His activity, just because I don’t see what I expect to see…never ever means that He isn’t at work.
I continue to submit myself to Him, learning more absolute trust of Him, and committing myself time and time again to be obedient to what He says. He is always right…I’ve learned that by experience, some of them very painful.
When it seems like the storm looms so threateningly close, and I don’t sense Him, I continue to choose…gritting my teeth sometimes…that He is God, and He is faithful to His promises to me. Even when I’m scared to death of the storm…His love for me is beyond measure.
The storm will pass. And even if it leaves a path of destruction, I am safe.
For I am His.
