Give me a word, Lord: STORMS OF LIFE

Hebrews 6:18-19 God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.

Early this morning around 2:30 am, a storm blew in. It was not a mere rain shower. No, it was a real gully washer, thunder booming storm. I lay quietly in bed listening to the clashes of thunder and watching the lightning as it lit up the sky. It felt like the whole house was shaking with each boom of thunder. I was waiting for my big Bouvier des Flandres dogs, Sophie and Bear, to jump into bed with me because although they are big brave dogs, they are scared of thunder. They refrained from jumping in the bed, but stayed closely nestled on the floor next to the bed. My sweet husband was lying beside me sleeping quietly through the entire storm. It lasted for at least thirty minutes. God was displaying His power in vibrant strikes of lightning, sheets of heavy rain, and raging winds.

As I lay there listening to the storm around me, I thought about the storms that we have endured over the past year. I’m not talking about the wind, rain, thunder, and lightning storms. No, I am referring to the different storms of life that we have endured since the beginning of 2020. COVID-19 came in like a lion, and we thought it would quickly leave like a lamb. To our great dismay, COVID-19 decided to linger a while longer. We had a presidential election debacle and concern of election fraud. Many have been ill with this crazy virus, and friends and family members have succumbed to it. Jobs have been lost. Businesses have been closed. We are still wearing masks in public. Everything within my medical practice has changed. It has been a stormy year indeed. I venture to say that this has been the most difficult year I’ve practiced in all of my many years as a family nurse practitioner. But even though it has been a most trying year, and I occasionally get overwhelmed, I can still lie down and close my eyes at night and sleep just as peacefully as my husband did last night while that storm was raging. Why? Because I know who controls the storms. Whether it be a vicious thunderstorm or a battle with an unseen virus, my God is in control, and because I know that He is in control, I can rest easy.

God is our anchor in the storm. He is our hope. He is our shield. He is our protection. I know you are probably going through some kind of storm right now too. Storms come and go, but no matter how loud the thunder booms or how strong the wind blows, we have an anchor that will keep us grounded throughout it all. We who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. Grab hold to the hope that is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. The storms may rage, but we don’t have to face them alone. Place your hope in the Anchor!