She lost her husband recently to a massive heart attack at the age of 56. She has been with me through some of my most difficult health issues. I was reminded of this a few weeks ago at an appointment with my gynecologist, who happens to be one of the most wonderful christian doctors I’ve even encountered. We have to trust God while we weather it out.
When faced with a personal storm we must wait it out, knowing God has to power to start and stop storms. How should we handle the storms of life? During nature’s storms we tend to hunker down and wait until the storm passes. A rainbow is God’s promise to his people.Īnd God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. I always look at a rainbow and feel it’s God’s way of saying everything will be okay. One of the most beautiful things in nature is the appearance of a brilliant rainbow following a powerful thunderstorm or rain shower. As survivors of storms, we can grow in our faith if we continue to trust God in the midst of the storm.
However, when followed by a rebuilding process, new things are brought about that would not have been possible before the storm. Natural and personal storms can leave a long trail of destruction behind. It is difficult to find beauty in our personal storms when we are going through them, but we can take comfort in knowing they will eventually end. Some of the darkest moments in our lives happen just before we experience a breakthrough to better things. Storms uproot our lives and leave a behind a path of destruction in the form of rearranged lives, depression, discouragement, and lifestyle changes. Broken relationships, the loss of a job, a health crisis, financial hardship, the death of a loved one, or a tragic accident can change our lives in a moment. Like natural storms, personal storms often arrive with little warning. They may be followed by sunshine and rainbows.At times they bring devastation requiring clean up.They bring darkness, uncertainty, and a sense of foreboding disaster.Natural storms and personal storms are similar because: It’s breathtaking to see the night sky illuminated by flashes of light and watch the power of the wind sweep rain across the landscape.
Nature’s storms have a beauty of their own, even though they can be frightening and unpredictable. No matter how far technology has advanced, man still can’t stop storms. Storms are the perfect reminder of the power of God. As the storm raged outside, my scripture reading reminded me who is in control of all storms – the storms that shake the mountains and rattle the windows, as well as the personal storms of life we all encounter at times. It was quite timely when my morning Bible reading contained Psalm 135. If a bird can sing in the midst of a powerful storm, why shouldn’t we sing when we are going through the storms of life? Between the loud claps of thunder, I was quite amused when I heard a bird singing. This morning, I woke up to the sound of thunder rumbling over the mountain and lightning flashing through my bedroom window. I wrote this in the spring of 2017 but thought this would be a good time to post it again as a reminder to trust God in the midst of the storm our world is currently experiencing in the form of the COVID-19 outbreak and the uncertainty we are facing. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth he sends forth lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. The Lord does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.