JESUS IS THE EYE IN OUR STORMS
It’s spring, the stormy weather season, a time when we check the forecasts before heading out. As we face our storms of life, we can check out God’s Word to guide us to safety, joy, and peace. Let’s do it!
ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES by Sally Bair
Eye of the storm
Springtime is typically a time when we encounter rainstorms and, down south, tornadoes. It soon will be hurricane season, too, when violent atmospheric disturbances erupt in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
We humans often encounter storms, or disturbances, unrelated to the weather. The COVID pandemic surely could be called a storm of hardships that have affected the entire world. Many of us have faced the disease’s effects in one way or another.
As someone who tends to become impatient easily, I can think of many “disturbances” that cause me anxiety or frustration. The day my computer is hacked, just as I have important things to post. A sudden rattle under my car when I begin a trip. Whether my disturbances—or yours—are minor or seem as threatening as a hurricane, storms of life are inevitable. Yours may be worse than mine. Yours may be the abuse of a mate or a pile of unpaid bills or family illness. But what we choose to do about them will determine if we will come through battered, shipwrecked, or unscathed.
Bad storms, such as hurricanes, contain a place of stillness—an eye. When a storm hits, our first thought is to take shelter. While traveling through Kansas one spring with my daughter, we got caught between two tornadoes. The air was as still as a hurricane’s eye. “Take cover now or die!” a radio announcer yelled. So we sped up the highway to the nearest town and found a storm shelter just in time.
As we allow ourselves to remain in God’s eye, so to speak, He will calm us, strengthen us and empower us so we can better face our storms. When Jesus calmed the wind for His disciples as they frantically called out to Him while trying to keep their boat afloat, He demonstrated His power to calm any storm. He will for us, too. Like the disciples, our nerves no longer need to jangle from fear and anxiety. No longer do we need to be sucked into the winds of negativity or despair.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) When we choose to trust in His protective “eye,” we can better obey Him by loving Him and all others.
Lord, thank You for being our protection, rest, peace, and joy in the midst of our worst storms. We choose to trust in Your Word and to abide in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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