What is the most violent storm you have ever experienced?
As I type this, there is a torrid storm by the name of Ian that is tearing at the southwest coast of our state, Florida with winds in excess of 150 mph and rain measured in feet instead of inches. It grazed my community last night.
I have a couple vivid memories of storms that riveted me and alarmed my senses for the danger I perceived. First one was when I was eight or nine years old. A hurricane was barreling down on the southeast coast of Florida. We had been visiting my grandparents and extended family in Miami-Dade and my Dad decided he did not want to weather the storm but to take us to Georgia and home where we belonged. As we drove up US 1 along the east coast we traveled across a draw bridge in pretty substantial winds. As we crossed the center span of that bridge, which was a metal grate that raised and lowered for large vessel passage, the wind and the wet metal overcame any traction our 1967 Chevy Impala coupe might have had with the road and we were blown from the northbound lane to the southbound lane. Thankfully, there was no oncoming traffic so I am here to write about it.
My second storm encounter was also in a transport scenario. I was flying from Atlanta to Phoenix, Arizona, through an absolutely horrible area of storms. The pilot told us what might happen, and when he did you could sense the collective gasp of the passenger cabin. While he did alarm us, he understated the severity of our experience. I have never, ever, in whatever way possible, been that tossed and thrown. I believe that night that the airframe of that Boeing 757 had the most severe test of it’s tenure in the air. Every bolt on that plane must’ve been loosened and hanging by a thread when we landed.
And, guess what? I survived.
Beyond physical storms that are outside of our being, we all experience circumstantial and personal storms that can shake us to our core and cause us to question our ability to survive them.
We find ourselves insufficient of resources, stressed because of competing forces beating on our well-being and peace, exposed to the elements of circumstance.
We may be completely exposed, without any shelter from the heat of demands, tragedy, misunderstanding and/or personal failure and loss.
We can be pushed up against walls with no way out.
Storms come in many forms, and no two are the same. They seem to be uniquely crafted to trouble us when they come.
But God is an intervener. He delights in creating ways of escape, umbrellas of protection, shade from the oppressive heat and secret doors in the walls. Look at this revelation from the experience of Isaiah, a Jewish sage and prophet 700 years before the time of Jesus Christ.
But to the poor, O Lord, you are a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, a shelter from merciless men who are like a driving rain that melts down an earthen wall. -Isaiah 25.4
How does one access this God that protects in the storms but might not preempt them? By trusting that, as Jesus said to the disciples, "Let's go to the other side." Storms come up, but if the Lord has given you a promise of the other side, Trust it.
When the storm came in the journey, Jesus slept while everyone else had panic attacks. When they woke him up, he said to them, "You guys have such little faith in what I say."
The words of this song by the late Andrae Crouch sums it up. Pray this, confess this, get to know this God.
I've had many tears and sorrows I've had questions for tomorrow There's been times I didn't know right from wrong But in every situation God gave me blessed consolation That my trials come to only make me strong I've been to a lot of places And I've seen millions of faces But there were times that I felt so all alone But in my lonely hours Yes, those precious lonely hours Jesus let me know that I was his own That's the reason I say that Through it all Through it all I've learned to trust in Jesus I've learned to trust in God Let me tell you that Through it all Through it all I've learned to depend upon his word So I thank God for the mountains And I thank him for the valleys And I thank him for the storms he brought me through For if I'd never had a problem I'd never know that God could solve them I'd never know what faith in his word could do That's the reason I say that Through it all Through it all I've learned to trust in Jesus I've learned to trust in God Let me tell you that Through it all Through it all I've learned to depend upon his word Oh, let me tell you that Through it all Sometimes in through fire Through it all My-my-my Lord I've learned to trust in Jesus I've learned to trust in God (and i can see trust in God) Through it all Let me tell you that Through it all Oh, God Lord I've learned to depend upon his word I've learned to depend upon his word I've learned to depend upon his word ©Andrae Crouch 1993
Let’s get you covered. If you don’t quite know how to go to him, write me today – you’ll find a ‘Message Me’ link on this site.
-© Phil Underwood
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