The Lord Is with Us through the Storms  

As recent storms approached, I headed down into my basement after receiving notification that we were under a tornado warning, in addition to seeing the weather radar indicating that the twister could be targeting our specific community. As the TV meteorologists encouraged people to take various precautions and make preparation for the possibility of damaging winds, I added my own activity to the list. I prayed. I asked for protection for us, our family, our church family, and others in the path of the storm. I prayed that this angry red blob pictured on the radar might weaken and not be as big a problem as it portended. Thankfully, the threat did dissipate from our area rather quickly. The warning was cancelled. I am not sure what happened meteorologically speaking, but I gratefully give credit to God for answered prayer and for our being spared the brunt of the storm.

However, others weren’t so fortunate. Some people did get hit hard, experiencing significant property damage. There were even a few lives lost in the midst of this weather event and its aftermath. My guess is that I wasn’t the only one praying that day. Maybe some of these same folks who suffered loss from this storm were also seeking God’s help and protection. It raises questions as to why some people are spared while others are not. Skeptics might view it all as random acts of nature, leaving God and the effects of prayer out of the picture altogether. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that prayer makes a difference. Additionally, Jesus clearly showed that He has the power to calm the winds and the sea (see Matthew 8:23-27). The psalmist also suggested that God is in control of the winds, fulfilling His word and His will through their activity (Psalm 147:18; 148:8). While natural forces are at work in the weather, I believe God can still intervene to redirect or calm the storms.

We may not know the reasons why some are spared from the effects of the storms while others are forced to face them head on. That applies not only to those tempests in nature, but also to the other upheavals and challenges we face in life that we often refer to as storms, including sickness, financial hardship, and even death. Nevertheless, if we are trusting the Lord we can be assured of His presence and help whether it is in avoiding those adversities or in navigating our way through those rough waters and their consequences in our lives. He may calm our storm, or He may guide us and strengthen us to make it through that difficulty. Either way, we can count on His abiding presence.

I have come to better appreciate a song I previously had associated primarily with funerals. While it does relate to death, it also applies to other aspects of our lives. It expresses the desire for the Lord to “abide with me.” Part of it states, “I need Thy presence every passing hour…Who, like Thyself my Guide and Stay can be? Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.” If the Lord is with us, we can endure whatever comes our way, whether cloud or sunshine, whether in our relief of being spared from the storm or through our efforts to pick up the pieces, deal with the loss, and rebuild.

While we may rightfully pray for God’s protection and rejoice when we witness His answering those cries for help, our main concern should be for His abiding presence in our lives no matter what comes our way. If we have Him in our hearts and lives, we have what we most need to face the storms.