It has been a very stormy night in Arkansas. It began earlier in the day with heavy rains all during the day in the northern half of the state. There is thunder rumbling in the distance even now in the early hours of the new day. Nobody minds a spring thunder storm but this has been an intense amount of weather. It’s gone on for too long and it hasn’t let up yet. It is relentless. Friends have even spent time in their safe places and some are still there at this hour. Thousands are without power.
Oh beloved, the storm you have gone through has been relentless. You now feel that you are soaked to the bone with sorrow, grief and despair. Why did it happen? When will it change? Where is help?
God wants you to know this morning that His love compels Him to never leave you or forsake you. Even when you feel totally alone and totally in the dark. God is with you. He may be unseen but He is never unaware nor is He uncaring. It’s time to rest in His wings. It’s also time to rise up in faith. The power Jesus had to speak over the storm way back when He walked the earth is the same power that dwells in you. You do not have to spend another moment huddled in terror. You are not destined to have a storm tossed life and live it all out in fear. Your life is full of the promises of God. He says beauty for ashes, strength for fear, gladness for mourning and hope for despair. He says it’s a new day. He says you walk in a new way. Yes, bad things happen – but God’s people rise above it. The Lord doesn’t say it isn’t happening but you can be an overcomer through Christ. While the winds and the thunder and the lightning rage, you don’t have to be afraid. God is with you and He is in you and He is for you.
God loves you and He’s for you. Run to Him this very day and thank Him for His protection, guidance, deliverance and His redemptive power. He is the Light of the World and He will make all things new. Your life is not about being a mere survivor but thriver. You will thrive in the storm and thrive in the sunlight because Jesus is with you all the days of your life.
Nahum 1: 7 The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him.
Psalm 107: 28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, And He brought them out of their distresses.
Matthew 8: 26 He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.
Psalm 46: 1-2 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea