Wednesday, June 10, 2015

It’s storming…again

For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  James 1:3-4 

The weather this spring has been unlike any other spring season I have seen in all of my life.  It has been so truly crazy.  It has rained almost every day this month it seems and added to that severe weather way too often.  I literally have had to take cover from a tornado at least twice and one of those times I did not think I was going to survive.  While on a road trip, out in the middle of nowhere, I was trying to outrun the storm and find a safe place to wait it out.  Several people who knew I was driving near the storm were looking at radars and giving me directions and advice. 

At one point, I actually turned around and went back to where I had just been trying to avoid the storm (which had grown huge and severe with multiple tornadoes) only to learn that the storm shifted and changed directions.  It was chasing me!  We had to stop and wait it out for over an hour and then finally had to leave and brave it because it was getting late.  The storm was moving slowly, and my son had to get up and go to school the next morning so we left and once again headed directly where the storm was headed, hoping we could beat it.  Well, we didn’t beat it.  After almost being pushed off the road by the swirling winds and dodging all kinds of debris flying across the highway, we finally stopped under an underpass along with many other people.  I know that an underpass is not the best place to be in a tornado or bad storm but when there is absolutely nothing on either side of you but miles and miles of flat land, I was extremely relieved to come over the hill and see that shelter!
After my son and I sat through that storm that night we both felt like we would never be afraid of another storm again.  Since that night, although we have never been as frightened as we were that night, we have endured severe storm after severe storm.  The words “tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds” are becoming a daily part of the weather forecast.  It seems the environment has gone haywire.   The night we were in the bad storm on the highway there were 9 confirmed tornadoes close to where we were.  People have lost homes, property and some have lost loved ones as well due to the continued storms we are experiencing almost daily.  It is storm season as never before!

100% Chance of Storms Ahead
I have often thought in the midst of this unusually stormy season, “What is the reason or purpose for all this?  What is God doing or trying to tell us?”  I truly thought I was going to die in that storm that night, so why did God have me experience that and spare me?  I know there is a purpose and a plan for every single experience in our lives, so what does He want me to take away from all this turmoil in nature? 

It can’t help but remind me of life and the “storms” we go through.  There are those seasons in life when it feels like we are literally dodging lightning and running from tornadoes every time we turn around.  It seems like the sky is falling.  All we want to do is get out the downpour and hide somewhere safe and secure.  “Safe” places are hard to come by in life storms.  In the dark, with winds twisting and objects flying, I came over the hill to safety, security…just in time.  God provides those places for us in the storms; just like an underpass in the middle of nowhere. 

God is the “safe place” we need to run to in the middle of the storms in life.  Exhausted and road-weary from fighting the storm, we come over a hill and find He has supplied a place to rest and gather ourselves for the road ahead.  We can’t do it on our own with our limited resources and abilities, so God gives us what we need.  He knows the forecast as well.  He wrote the forecast!  He is prepared for the storms and is always right beside us.  He is our shelter and will not abandon us or let us down.  He will see us through, and He will provide the lifeboat if needed.  God has a specific purpose and plan for your life. Storms are simply temporary setbacks along the way toward fulfilling that purpose.

Scripture to Claim:
There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain.  Isaiah 4:6 NASB

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