ominous storm

Laughing in the face of the wind

The eye of the storm

WHO AM I?

Last summer, when the kids were here, we did what was probably a foolish thing. We sat outside and watched a storm cloud move in from the west. It was big and black and fierce looking. The huge cloud roiled and lightening flashed like beacons in the midst of the dark mass moving slowly across the sky.

John, Maci, Jacob and I laughed in the face of the wind. We reveled in the danger of the storm. We thrilled at the fact that a funnel could shoot down at any moment and toss us about like rubble. We were either very brave or incredibly stupid.

Actually we sat 6 feet from the door to the house, we felt sure we could run to the shelter of the basement. We were secure in the fact that safety and refuge were right there beside us.

It wasn’t until the dark front of the ominous cloud had passed over us and I looked up to see the swirling whirlwind right above our heads, that I realized how dangerous it was. We were in the eye of the storm. A funnel could drop before we could even say the word, RUN!

Little did we know, until it was past, that there WAS a tornado warning with this storm. There had been in fact, a funnel spotted from the cloud, west of us.     Incredibly stupid is what I would call it, yet undeniably protected!

Today as I sit here I watch a different kind of storm; snow and wind, a blasting blizzard. Snow plastered on buildings and fence posts and driven through any crack the wind can find. Wind-whipped snow biting my face and cold knifing into my bones. Wind, whirling wind and blinding snow.

“The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and the storm. The clouds are the dust of His feet”

Who am I to question God’s way? He commands the winds. He stands in the midst of the mighty storm.

“He rebukes the sea and makes it dry and He dries up the rivers.”

Who am I to demand my way? He controls the waters on the whole earth.

“The mountains quake before Him and the hills melt like wax.”

Who am I to tell the Almighty what He should do? He reigns over the majestic mountains and rules the hills.

“The whole earth and all who dwell in it heave at His presence.”

Who am I to stand in anger before the Almighty God? The earth is His. He has dominion over all the earth and He is master of all who are in it.

I am nothing but dust. A grain of sand on a sea shore created by the Creator. A sinner. Like the inhabitants of Nineveh, I have a black heart. I rail and stomp against my God, yet expect to have blessings heaped upon my head. I am nothing, a weakling unable to take care of my own life.

God is the God of the whirlwind. By spoken word, He controls the wind. God holds the storms in His hands. He lets them loose upon the earth as He sees fit.

When a storm comes into my life and the winds scatter all that I know, who am I to shake my fist at Him who stands in the blast? He is the God of the wind.

If I lose all I have on this earth, who am I to expect more? He gives and He takes away. He is the God of the waters.

When my world quakes, when the ones I counted on leave or are taken away, when everything I know is in upheaval, who am I to be angry at the God of the whole Earth? He can make the mighty mountains shake. The hills run into puddles like melting wax at His word. The earth heaves at His presence. At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

I am nothing. He is everything!

He calms the wind and stills the storm. He waters the ground and makes the flowers bloom and He brings about food on the earth. He holds the mountains in place and solidifies the hills. He keeps the planet together. For now.

However, if He does not, if He allows my life to fall apart then I can do nothing but trust Him. When it is the hardest to trust Him, I need to trust Him the most.

Even if the storms come and the whirlwind scatters my life to the four corners of the earth; Even if the waters dry up on all the earth and I have no sustenance; Even if the mountains shake and fall into the sea; Even if the hills melt and all I know is gone; Even then–

“The Lord is good. He is a stronghold, a refuge, in the day of trouble.

He knows who trusts in Him.” (from Nahum 1:3-7)

Even though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines:

Even though the labor of the olive may fail and the fields yield no crop:

Even though the flock is cut off from the fold and destroyed and there are no        herds in the stalls:

Even then, I will rejoice in the Lord of the whole earth.

I will have joy in my God because he saves my soul.

Because He gives me Grace, I will praise His name. His grace is sufficient, it is     all I need.

“The Lord is my strength, I need no other, He will make my feet like the feet of deer and He will enable me to walk on my high hills.” (from Habakkuk 3:17-19)

I am nothing. He is everything.

Winter storm