Stormy Weather
Today my son has off from school because of Tropical Storm Isaac. Living in Florida, this is not a rare occurrence, but it’s still always a little nerve-wracking to see those great big storm graphics headed your way on the weather map. Thankfully, we’ve not really gotten anything more than a lot of rain and a little wind. I am praying for those who have already been affected (like those in Haiti) and those who could still be affected (like those on the Gulf coast), for God to protect and keep them safe during this storm.
The word storm will forever bring a particular set of song lyrics to my mind. The lines are from Scott Krippayne’s song “Sometimes He Calms the Storm.”
Sometimes He calms the storm with a whisper “Peace, be still.”
He can settle any sea, but it doesn’t mean He will.
Sometimes He holds us close and lets the wind and waves go wild.
Sometimes He calms the storm, but other times He calms His child.
These lyrics are so incredibly profound. We will all face storms in life, that’s not even a discrepancy of this song. The very basis of the lyrics, in fact, assumes that all will be facing a storm at one point or another. The distinction, rather, is in God’s response to our storms. It suggests that there will be times that our fervent prayers for the storm to end will be answered, and that God will simply fix our problems by calming the storm. He is, after all, able to do anything, no storm is too great for Him. There are other times, however, when God’s response will be to not change a single thing in our circumstance at all. In those cases, it’s you and I that He’ll calm. Having been on the receiving end of this kind of an answer to my prayers, I can tell you that while it may not seem to be as effective considering the storm still rages around you, it is almost more so. God has this way of coming into our situations and changing us, and suddenly, our circumstances, while completely unchanged, look totally different.
If you’re facing a storm on the inside that’s not unlike the weather on the outside today, know that God will always answer and help us. Sometimes, it’ll be in changing your circumstances, but other times, He’ll just change you. In both cases, we can rest easy knowing that God is working, and that He is in control of the storms of our lives.
