Safe in the Eye of the Storm
There's a secure place to which we can flee in the storms of life.
In case you missed it, almost the entire mid-section of the U.S. got hit with storms last weekend. This was the view in my neighborhood when I emerged from my house in the early morning light of April 1st. Happy April Fools’ Day, eh?
I happened to be out during the first few hours of the storm, and while it wasn’t the worst one I’ve been in, driving on roads without a clear picture of where the lanes are and having the windshield occasionally walloped by a wave of heavy snow and ice as a passing car hits the rapidly accumulating inches between lanes isn’t the most relaxing.
Regardless, I’d far rather have the snow and ice than the tornados that hit in the states south of me the same day. Scrolling through Twitter watching some of the videos shot during the day left me in astounded amazement. The clouds and winds are mighty and majestic, but the destruction they leave in their aftermath is devastating.
While these stormy images were still in my mind, I came across a poem, author unknown, entitled “The Eye of the Storm.” It takes the picture of a terrifying storm and compares it to the storms of our lives, those events that can raise our fears and shake our faith.
But it is those same storms of life that can put us in the greatest security … if we will look to God and trust His plan, that is:
Fear not that the whirlwind shall carry thee hence,
Nor wait for its onslaught in breathless suspense,
Nor shrink from the whips of the terrible hail,
But pass through the edge to the heart of the gale,
For there is a shelter, sunlighted and warm,
And Faith sees her God through the eye of the storm.The passionate tempest with rush and wild roar
And threatenings of evil may beat on the shore,
The waves may be mountains, the fields battle plains,
And the earth be immersed in a deluge of rains,
Yet, the soul, stayed on God, may sing bravely its psalm,
For the heart of the storm is the center of calm.Let hope be not quenched in the blackness of night,
Though the cyclone awhile may have blotted the light,
For behind the great darkness the stars ever shine,
And the light of God’s heavens, His love shall make thine,
Let no gloom dim thine eyes, but uplift them on high
To the face of thy God and the blue of His sky.The storm is thy shelter from danger and sin,
And God Himself takes thee for safety within;
The tempest with Him passeth into deep calm,
And the roar of the winds is the sound of a psalm.
Be glad and serene when the tempest clouds form;
God smiles on His child in the eye of the storm.
Almost every one of us is facing some storm, some difficulty in life. It may be a job loss, or a terminal illness, or an uncertain future, or a broken relationship … or maybe it’s just concern about the political future as law and order seems to evaporate and a Soviet-style government creeps in before our eyes.
The beautiful thing about such storms, however, is that those who look to God, trusting Him for His perfect plan, help, and guidance, will pass through the storm with a peaceful heart and hope for the future.
Why? Because they know that the One who controls the wind and waves and the hearts of rulers also holds those who trust Him in the palm of His hand. And no place is safer or more secure than that.
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Thank you.