Calm In the Midst of the Storm

After hurricane Harvey and Irma, and now Jose moving up the eastern seaboard, it seems all our eyes have been glued to the television over the last couple weeks. The weather has certainly been active and so have we, keeping an eye on where the storms are and watching all the destruction left behind after the storms. It seems that many have an opinion as to why these cataclysmic events are happening, especially believers. Some say that it is God's judgment on America. Others, including myself, don't believe that at all. God doesn't bring destruction. It is His will that none be lost and I believe with all my heart that only He can take a huge mess and make it into something beautiful.

We all go through storms. No one is excluded from the raging winds of adversity that blow upon our lives. Just as the people that were in Harvey's path, and now the folks in Florida, when the storms of life hit us, life gets messy. I don't know about you but I don't do messy well. When life gets too messy I am often left feeling overwhelmed and even worn out; but guess what? You are going to have a mess to go through before you can have a message to share with others. So what do we do when we find ourselves in the midst of a raging storm? It's quite simple actually. In the natural, you take shelter. When the storms of life hit you, you also take shelter.

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” Psalm 91:1-4

We have raised parakeets and cockatiels and so we know just a little about wings and feathers. They are extremely warm and soft. They have to be because those little chicks are extremely tiny, weak, and vulnerable. Often, a day or so before the chick would hatch, you might actually hear it peep though the shell. Usually, about this time, the hen has separated the egg from the others and has purposely allowed it to get a little cool. This would encourage the chick to pipe through the shell. It takes 24 to 48 hours for the process of busting out, pipping all the way around the egg with it's little beak, until the egg falls open. The mother does not help in the struggle, though she is right there, waiting patiently. She knows that if she intervened, the chick to not gain the strength it needs to survive once it's out.

Like those little chicks, God is bringing many of you out of your shell. It is a struggle but not a struggle unto your destruction. It is struggle unto your development! It may seem you are struggling alone but know you are not. He is there, sheltering you in the struggle. I love what our friend Kathie Walters says, "snuggle, don't struggle." Just trust Him in the process!! He is allowing the resistance of the storm in your life to strengthen you because He has greater things for you! See, what the enemy brings for harm, God uses for His glory. He doesn't get the glory in your destruction! He's calling you out of where you are at. We go from glory to glory. A chick develops in the egg but it can not stay there. If it does, it will die. This is a season to break out of your shell and away from everything that has held you back!

One passage am growing to appreciate even more and more is the 23rd Psalm. I think it's a shame that it's most often read at funeral services than at any other time.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Though there are many gems in this passage that we can apply in our everyday lives, I just want to touch on a couple that especially speak to me. First, "the Lord is my Shepherd." In John 10:27 Jesus says "My sheep know my voice and I know them and they follow me." Because He is my shepherd, I can know his voice.

Not just

hear Him, but know his voice. If I answer my phone and I hear my husband or child on the other end, I don't have to ask who it is. I know who is because I know them intimately. "He leads me...." The shepherd does not drive the sheep. He leads them. If I am feeling driven in any particular area of my life, I know that is not the Lord's leading. The other verse that really speaks to me is in verse 5 "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." We know that our enemies are not flesh and blood. (Ephesians 6). The table speaks of a place of being in His presence. Feasting with Him and He prepares the feast. When I sit and dine with my husband, my back is to everything else. I am looking at him. I am enjoying the moment with him. When we sit at the Lord's table, our gaze is on Him and our backs are to the enemy. It is a place of trusting Him in the midst of the storm. We can rest in Him, and dine at His table; placing our focus on Him and not the storm that rages around us. When the storms do rage around you, know that you can find shelter, you can find peace, and you can find rest! And remember, it just might be the perfect storm, catapulting you to greater wisdom, greater maturity, greater grace, greater strength, greater heights, and greater glory!!