PEACE IN THE STORM

Looking out my window towards the valley, I can see four towns in the distance. On most evenings, as the sun sets over these small country communities, you can see a fabulous show of orange and pink in various shades. At times there are even hues of purple added to the magnificent sky in the west.

One spring evening, as I looked out my front window, there was a different picture being painted. I could see a storm blowing in, the parade of colors had turned to black. The once white billowing clouds were dark with sharp spears of light shooting from them wildly, followed by loud and terrifying cracks and claps. The gentle breeze of spring had turned violent and the trees were twisting in the wind. A storm was approaching and I was in it’s path.

I turned on my television so that I could try and catch the 6 o’clock weather and get a better idea of what I was in store for. The picture painted by the weatherman was not promising. Hail and tornado activity were reported to the west of us and heading our way. The rain was falling from the sky as if buckets of water were being emptied, instead of the gentle spring rain we had experienced earlier in the week. Our field to the south of us now hosted a river of water roaring down the hill. Our pond, which was bone dry, now was full and if the rain continued at this rate, the water would spill over the dam.

Although this was a terrifying experience I knew that I was safe in the shelter of my home and I took comfort in this. My next few entries will be reflecting on the storms of life that I have experienced and how I found my shelter and comfort in the Lord. As I am writing this, I am reminded of a storm that Jesus had calmed in Matthew 4:35-71 and Luke 8:22-25. Jesus and his disciples were crossing the sea and a storm blew in while Jesus slept. The disciples woke him asking if he cared if they perished. Jesus spoke "peace, be still" and the storm was calmed. He then responded to them saying "where is you faith?". How often do we find ourselves in the storms of life and ask God if he is there and does he care, when instead we should be placing our faith in him.

2 Corinthians 1:4

He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has give us.