Storms pass

Isaiah 25:4 & 5

You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.  For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall and like the heat of the desert.  You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled. NIV

These verses, I think, are all about the relief and the perspective you get once a big worry has passed.  And, they are certainly an acknowledgement of God’s faithfulness and awesome power.  He is the refuge, He is the protection.

I love the perspective that the writer shares … he describes the sources of his worries as being, “like a storm driving against a wall,” and “like the heat of the desert.”  Both of these things have a seemingly infinite quality to them when you are experiencing them, but, once they have passed, you can see that at most times, no real harm was done.

When I was in college, a hurricane came through town.  We had plenty of warning that it was coming, and, hurricanes are not uncommon in my home state.  I lived in a large, concrete fortress that had been built in the 60s.  It had long, skinny floor to ceiling windows in each room which, I’m sure, the architect had found aesthetically pleasing, but they had long since ceased to be functional and, when I lived there, they had all been sealed shut.  They were not, however, impervious to the winds of the hurricane.  As the storm raged, those windows shook, and water poured through them at a pretty decent rate.  At one point, the water in my room covered the tops of my feet, and, I was on an upper floor.

But, my bed was nice and dry and the walls held.

In the morning, after the storm had passed, a glorious day dawned.  Trees had been uprooted, cars had been crushed, some people had lost their homes because trees fell through their roofs, but, no one had died. The town began busily putting itself back in order.

In most cases, my worries are just like that storm.  They might make a lot of noise to distract me, they might make my life a bit  uncomfortable or inconvenient, but, they don’t really affect me at the core of where I live.  I need to remember that the next time I face a big worry.  And, these verses paint a beautiful picture to remind me.  I no longer live in a concrete fortress, but, I live each day in the fortress that is Jesus Christ.

I am so thankful for that gift today.