Isaiah 25:4 (KJV)
For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, I was thinking about my own experience. The storm headed right for our area of New Jersey. At first, the storm came in, with the winds and rains, and I was getting very concerned. You see, my house has a few big trees around and I am always worried when we get a high wind. I hunkered down in my basement and tried to not be anxious. Of course, that failed miserably.
After a few hours, I didn’t hear anything at all. The eye of the storm was passing over our house. I went outside and it was just so calm. You didn’t hear a thing and the silence was incredible. But, the calm didn’t last.
The back end of the storm was approaching and it was worse than the leading edge. The winds were whipping up, the rains came, and I was petrified. I just sat in my basement hoping that I didn’t hear any loud noises or bangs of a tree hitting my house.
Throughout the storm, I kept waiting to lose electricity. We had our ice and food and small generator at the ready. I prayed to God to keep us and our neighbors safe. I actually went room to room and sprinkled holy water and prayed. I had done all I could.
When the storm passed, I looked outside to access the damage. Not only did we never lose electric through the whole storm, not one of the trees fell. There were lots of leaves around, but that’s it. We didn’t even get much water in our basement.
What did the storm teach me?
It taught me that I can only be prepared up to a point- God is the One who is in charge and it’s up to Him what happens in any storm in our lives. We were so blessed to be protected by Him. But there are thousands who lost everything, property lost and lives as well. I pray for those people and know that in the midst of tragedy, God will make something good come from it. People are coming together and helping from all over the country. Neighbors are helping neighbors. Celebrities are donating time and money for fund raising. It kind of reminds me of September 11th and the humanitarian efforts of so many.
So remember, in your personal storms, turn to God. He already knows what is going to happen anyway. He can guide you and will always be there with you. After every storm, the sun always comes out. Trust in Him and he will get you through any storm.
Revelations 