Storms

There is nothing like watching an Oregon coast storm from an indoor vantage point with a cup of coffee in hand and a fire burning. There is comfort watching . . .

dark skies . . .
sideways rain . . .
and high winds . . . from a safe vantage point as it unleashes its' power. 

To be in a storm is vastly different than watching a storm.  When the storms of life come at you, life will change. In fact, change is the one thing we count on when a storm brews in our life.  It fills up our conversations, time, and attention.  The storms  that hit us head-on leave a pathway of destruction.  Whether it is a storm that hits us head on or a storm that quickly comes and goes, change will come.  There will be some dreams and goals that will change because of the storm, things that we had planned and hoped for will look different.  Ultimately, the storm makes us stop, forcing us to respond.

The power of the storm produces questions:  What could have been done to prevent the storm?  What do we do now?  And . . . of course the most frequently asked question . . . why?
But . . . the most important question is . . . what will you do?

The storms will come.  Perhaps the worst storms that I have experienced, more than once, came in the words, “There is no hope. Death is imminent.”  To hear those words said about someone you love can make you feel that you are drowning in the deepest sea within the strongest storm.
The Psalmist understood the devastation from the storms of life that I am talking about when he wrote Psalm 46:

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. (Psalm 46:1-3).

Even when a storm turns our world upside down, we are promised:
God is our refuge . . . our source of help, relief, and safety. 
God is our strength . . . our power that is beyond human capability.
God is our very present help in trouble . . . there in the storm and will go through it with us.

What can you do in the storm?  It seems simple but in reality it can be hard.  Go to God and trust Him.  The decision to trust when the storms hit us can be difficult but will always be healing as you realize God is an intimate Refuge, Strength, and very present Help in trouble.  The thing is . . . the choice is either to go to God  . . . or to attempt to weather the storm without God.  What I know to be true . . . is that when the storm rages, God changes how I go through the storm . . . and in the end, strengthens me.

God has sheltered me when I have felt like drowning in the storm of words, “There is no hope. Death is imminent.”  He has been my very present help . . . my refuge of hope . . . and my strength of life. The storms of life can be the hardest thing we ever experience; however, God will go through it with us in an intimate and personal way.


Learning to KickStart the day in the worst storms believing God will be present and walk us through,
Kerrie

(written by Kerrie L. Palmer © 2010 All Rights Reserved)