the storm

Last Friday we had to take my son to Vanderbilt for an EEG. It had been raining all morning and it was to get stormy as the day went on. After our appointment was over we went and checked out “the dragon”. “The dragon” was a play area my youngest son had noticed from the window of our doctor’s waiting room. “The dragon” turned out to be a little play area on the sixth floor, but it was outside. There was a little dragon, a castle, and some swings. We were out there for a few minutes and it started getting dark. Then it came…a big rumble of thunder in the background. Then I saw some lightening so we headed inside. I forgot to mention that the tornado sirens had been going off the whole time we were out there. After being raised in West Tennessee where it seems tornadoes come through every day I didn’t think a whole lot about it but my six year old was concerned. He kept saying, “Let’s get out of this town!” My wife and I tried to explain that he was in the best place he could be if a tornado hit! He was at a hospital with a bunch of doctors! But all he could see was that dark cloud and all he could hear was the tornado sirens (by the way, it was the cloud that the tornado in Murfreesboro came out of, that’s why the sirens were sounding so he had a right to be scared. It was just minutes away!). We could never convince him that he was safe while we were there. It wasn’t until we got in our vehicle and drove to Nanny’s that he felt safe.
How many times have we acted just like my child? Think about it. We are surrounded by storms every day. We are faced with struggles on every side, every which way we turn. The sirens are blaring in our ears telling us to take cover and all we can think is, “I’ve got to get out of this place!” But what we fail to see is that we are in the best place we could be! We are safe in the arms of Jesus. We are hidden beneath His wings of love, sheltered by His fortress. He is not up in a cloud somewhere or sitting up in heaven watching everything going on! No! He is right here beside us…in us…in the midst of His people. We, who call on His name, have a rock that cannot be moved! There is no use in going somewhere else to find safety or to get away from the storms. He will walk with us through it! Isaiah 43:1-5a says But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “ Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place. Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you, And people for your life. Fear not, for I am with you…No. Don’t fear the storms, don’t run from the storms, don’t run away from God, walk with Him through the storm, He will help you through. If you are “in Christ (Colossians 2:6-12)” you are in the safest place you can be. Trust Him. It was hard for my son to trust what we were telling him but he did. The storm passed and he was safe. Your storm will soon pass. Keep the faith and trust Him. Randy