STORM SEASON
DAY 62: My family hails from the plains of northern Oklahoma, a.k.a. Tornado Alley. Just about everybody there has made the investment in a storm cellar fully expecting to run to it one day. For my mom, that day came when she was about 8-years-old. A monster storm tore through her town, ripped her bedroom off the house and left death and destruction all around. While the chaos swirled above them, they took refuge in the underground cellar and were spared.
Tornadoes are personal to our family. We understand what they can do, so when we watch as the news covers the inevitable twisters each spring we can imagine the terror felt by those in the paths. One picture was certainly worth a thousand words, but these few words that describe the mayhem come from an Associated Press news report:
Lives were lost. Entire towns have been decimated. Landscapes were altered. The tragedy is inconceivable, even with all the pictures on the news. In one case, a little girl was found tossed in a field, the only survivor of her family of five. As I read Psalm 46 today, I thought about those lives, the terror, the destruction. When those in the path of such a storm are putting God's words to the test:
1 God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
2 So we will not fear when earthquakes come
and the mountains crumble into the sea.
3 Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!
Interlude
I am struck afresh that the psalm does not promise there will be no trouble. It doesn't say God will stop the earthquakes or steady the mountains. There is no guarantee that the seas will be calm. The psalmist declares that in the midst of calamity God is a place of protection and safety - a refuge. He keeps safe that which no earthly threat can destroy - He is a refuge for our soul. How else could we declare that "we will not fear" unless we know that what matters most could never be destroyed if kept safe by God Almighty.
7 The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;
the God of Israel is our fortress.
He Himself is our shelter from the storm... our fortress in any calamity. And calamities come in so many ways. As destructive as 150 mile an hour winds, there are storms that blow over our lives and threaten our peace, our finances, our relationships, our health and even our faith with destruction. BUT, no matter the storm, we don't have to fear. . . because no outcome can shake us loose from the security of the grip of God. He keeps safe those who are His with a safety secured for eternity. We may have to deal with the destruction, but those kept safe by God can weather it with no fear... so says the psalm.
Calamity will come to your life and to mine. Sooner or later the earth will shake and the mountains will crumble and we will be in the path of the storms of life. On that day we will have a choice. We can go it alone, or we can put this truth to the test and run into the shelter and refuge God has prepared.
When storm season arrives, and not before, we will fully understand the reality of Psalm 46. Until then, we can let those words prepare us for the coming storms, gaining assurance that when the day comes, the refuge will be there as promised.
Day 62 of 365
Leviticus 27:14-34
Numbers 1
Mark 11:1-26
Psalm 46:1-11
Proverbs 10:23
"Friday's massive tornado outbreak killed more than 35 people in several
states and left behind scenes of destruction across the regions
including shredded homes, downed power lines, splintered trees and
streets and fields littered with cars and other debris."
Lives were lost. Entire towns have been decimated. Landscapes were altered. The tragedy is inconceivable, even with all the pictures on the news. In one case, a little girl was found tossed in a field, the only survivor of her family of five. As I read Psalm 46 today, I thought about those lives, the terror, the destruction. When those in the path of such a storm are putting God's words to the test:
1 God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
2 So we will not fear when earthquakes come
and the mountains crumble into the sea.
3 Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!
Interlude
I am struck afresh that the psalm does not promise there will be no trouble. It doesn't say God will stop the earthquakes or steady the mountains. There is no guarantee that the seas will be calm. The psalmist declares that in the midst of calamity God is a place of protection and safety - a refuge. He keeps safe that which no earthly threat can destroy - He is a refuge for our soul. How else could we declare that "we will not fear" unless we know that what matters most could never be destroyed if kept safe by God Almighty.
7 The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;
the God of Israel is our fortress.
He Himself is our shelter from the storm... our fortress in any calamity. And calamities come in so many ways. As destructive as 150 mile an hour winds, there are storms that blow over our lives and threaten our peace, our finances, our relationships, our health and even our faith with destruction. BUT, no matter the storm, we don't have to fear. . . because no outcome can shake us loose from the security of the grip of God. He keeps safe those who are His with a safety secured for eternity. We may have to deal with the destruction, but those kept safe by God can weather it with no fear... so says the psalm.
Calamity will come to your life and to mine. Sooner or later the earth will shake and the mountains will crumble and we will be in the path of the storms of life. On that day we will have a choice. We can go it alone, or we can put this truth to the test and run into the shelter and refuge God has prepared.
When storm season arrives, and not before, we will fully understand the reality of Psalm 46. Until then, we can let those words prepare us for the coming storms, gaining assurance that when the day comes, the refuge will be there as promised.
Day 62 of 365
Leviticus 27:14-34
Numbers 1
Mark 11:1-26
Psalm 46:1-11
Proverbs 10:23
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