When Storms Come
Psalm 57:1-3 Amplified Bible (AMP)
1 Be merciful and gracious to me, O God, be merciful and
gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge and finds shelter and
confidence in You; yes, in the shadow of Your wings will I take refuge and
be confident until calamities and destructive storms are passed. 2 I
will cry to God Most High, Who performs on my behalf and rewards me [Who
brings to pass His purposes for me and surely completes them]! 3 He
will send from heaven and save me from the slanders and reproaches of
him who would trample me down or swallow me up, and He will put
him to shame. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! God will send forth His
mercy and loving-kindness and His truth and faithfulness.
As I sat at home today, I began to meditate on the storms. I heard the winds and I saw the rain and
heard its intensity increase and decrease.
I have watched as the waters have risen in the lakes around our
home. I heard so many reports about the
flooding and high tide and the affects that this storm is having on the lives
of people all around us. Then I began to think on why storms come. Yes we understand that they come as a result
of weather systems, and patterns. We
understand that they are composed of air masses that collide and move to
cultivate different types of weather systems and patterns. Weather systems form and they come for many
reasons, but is this true of storms in our lives.
Surprisingly, enough storms to come in our lives for
different reasons. Sometimes they come
because of our own disobedience. Other times they come because we are being
tested and tried. A storm will also come
because of who we have allowed to come into our lives and become a part of our
lives. But storms also come to purify,
to cleanse and to wash away dirt (sin) and to shift us out of one season to
another. But just as I am sitting in my
home, safe and protected, we too, have a place to go and be safe and
protected. A place that covers us and
keeps the storm from damaging us or destroying us, and that place is under the
wings of God. God can be our refuge, the one that keeps us and protects us from
the potential of harm as the storm runs its course in our lives. Although the
winds may become adverse and the rains may come in a manner that has the
potential to drown us, God through the Holy Spirit can keep us, and can safeguard
us. Strangely enough though, most of us
will run out into the storm instead of running into the shelter of God and
letting His love and grace shelter us.
This happens usually for a few reasons; first we think God is punishing
us, instead of us accepting responsibility for our actions when they have
unleashed the storm in our lives.
Secondly, we are concerned because we understand that coming in out of
the storm requires us to change positions and to follow the rules of God’s
household and allow the Holy Spirit to teach us and bring the purpose of God
into a place of fullness in our lives.
You see protection comes with directions that we must follow, it is not
just a given, it requires us to be responsible. Thirdly we have become so affixed
upon the storms dynamics, and what the storm has brought into our lives.
So when the storm comes, will we stand out in it, or run
from God, or will we come into the presence of God and allow the Holy Spirit to
minister to us and warm us up? Will we
follow the rules that will keep us safe and keep the storm from destroying us
and causing damaging our lives and our walk with God? But as with everything in our lives we have
choices even when the storms come, to seek safety or stay uncovered out in the
midst of the storm!
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