Good Morning All,
Proverbs
10:25; “When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.”
We here in the Great Plains may miss some
of the horrific weather like hurricanes or typhoons. We rarely experience earthquakes and never
seen a volcano. But we do have blizzards
and we do have tornadoes. Tornadoes are
often more violent storms, short in duration often only a few seconds, but
tremendously destructive. It can be one
of the fiercest forces of nature away from the ocean. Homes, farms, even entire cities have been
completely destroyed by these twists of nature.
If viewed from a distance, they are awe inspiring but if viewed up close
they are terrifying. They are
unpredictable to the exact path or direction they will travel. The best we can do is to predict where the
likelihood is greatest. It is when you
are in the target zone that you sit up and take notice. As one area farmer said, “When you see the
CNN storm chaser truck sitting at the end of driveway; you take notice.”
Most people on the Great Plains have some
type of shelter for when the storms hit.
It might be the basement of the home.
The warning is to hide under a set of steps or in an interior closet
preferably reinforced. Some folks have a
storm cellar which is a reinforced basement-like structure usually made out of
concrete. We watch the weather and when
in doubt, we choose safety.
Our verse is a lot like that. Notice it says when the storm hits and not if
the storm hits. We know there will
be pain and trouble in this world. It is
still a broken and sin-filled creation.
It still suffers the effects of the sin which man introduced. So there is no such thing as a storm free
life; there will be times of trouble and heartache. We will experience times
of loss, sickness, divorce, unemployment, loneliness, depression, hopelessness
and fear. We know the storms will come,
so how do we prepare?
First we need to know who our true storm
shelter is; it is Jesus. He alone can
provide for our weathering the frightful.
We read it over and over again in Scriptures; “The name
of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe (Proverbs 18:10)” or “God
is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore,
we will not fear (Psalm 46:1-2a).”
There are many more references to our life being a storm and God being
our protector and all point to the same truth; only in God do we have
hope. Those who place their trust in
anything else will be disappointed.
There will be storms and yet our storm
cellar is always ready. Jesus is ready
to shelter you in the storms of this life.
Trust in his mercy to bring you through the storm and to see the rainbow
of his promise.
Father of all mercy, you protect us in the storms of
life. In you we have our only hope. Keep us safe in your arms. Be with those who are in a storm t this
time. Lead them to know that you are their
true shelter. Give them hope and give
them peace. In the precious name of
Jesus we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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