Stormy Weather
Early in the morning hours of July 29, we experienced a storm for the ages. This was not just a run-of-the-mill, ho-hum rainstorm, but a cavern-filling, gully-washer, cats-and-dogs type of storm. It started with a rumbling of thunder. I thought to myself, “Uh-oh, it’s coming.” Then, “Boom!,” “Crack!,” “Rumble!” “Sizzle!” As the lightning streaks lit up the blackened sky, I knew we were in for a doozy. As I laid in my bed, I said the most simple of prayers: “Lord, keep us safe.”
Next, I heard the thunder and lightning again - this time closer together. The storm was quickly approaching. I counted the time it would take my daughter to come flying down the stairs to our room. “1, 2, 3,” and then I could hear her feet hit the floor. She came flying into our room and said, “Mom, do you hear that? The storm? The lightning? The thunder?” For the next hour I laid in bed listening to the power of God at work. “Smack! Pound! Sizzle!” When I got out of bed in the morning, I felt as if I never went to sleep.
Storms are horrible. Biblically, our first example of a storm is found in Genesis 7. Of course, this excerpt tells the true story of the Flood of mankind. Genesis 7:12 reads, “And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.” The story continues noting, “the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.” Talk about gully-washers!
Don’t forget about Jonah, either! Jonah, rebelling against God’s direction in his life, had the idea he would escape the calling of God to preach salvation to the people of Nineveh (a people he did not like). He boarded a boat going in the opposite direction. “Let God try and stop me now!” he thought. God caused a great storm to arise, and Jonah finds himself in the belly of a whale as a result of his disobedience. After spending 3 days in whale digestive juices, Jonah was puked up on dry ground. God can use anything (storms included) to accomplish His will.
In Luke 8:22-25, we read of a storm which came upon the disciples as they were sleeping on the Sea of Galilee. This time, it was the 12 disciples all in a frenzy. They awoke a snoozing Jesus, and said, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Stop right there. “We?” The disciples? The disciples and Jesus? I believe they meant themselves individually. It was every-man-for-himself time. Jesus responded, spoke to the storm, and calmed the waters. Luke only writes of Jesus saying 4 short words. His response, “Where is your faith?”
If we read and study the Bible, we will understand one of its many lessons is that God is reigns supreme over nature. John, in Revelation 22:5, writes of heaven, (by the way, “a no-storm zone”), “There shall be no more night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light.” I can’t wait.
This morning I walked outside to assess the damages. House? Cars? Trees? All three were in picturesque fashion. There was, however, one notable addition: the smell! There’s nothing like the smell after the rain. Just like the rainbow, I believe the smell of rain is another example of God reminding us that HE is in control. Job 14:9, adds, “Though its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant.” The “scent of water” serves as a reminder of God’s mercy and grace made evident to us in the tiniest of ways - the minute raindrop.
The next time you are caught in a storm - relax. Take all the necessary precautions and then trust in the all-caring, all-loving, ever-protecting God above. May the land be renewed, our hearts refreshed, and our minds refocused on God before, during, and after the storm.