A Break in the Storm



This morning we finally got a break from the crazy storms that have been hanging around. We took advantage of this time and went for our walk this morning hoping to get it done before the next wave hits. Our walking paths were flooded, tree branches lay on the sidewalks and streets, and trash was blown all over the neighborhoods, so we had to take alternate routes. We were just so happy to be out and about that the inconvenience of alternate routes didn't really seem to bother us too much. We don't do being cooped up in the house very well. 

As we were walking, I couldn't help but see how much the storms were a reflection of life. Sometimes life is messy, with lots of obstacles in the way, and a flood of emotions, and a need to take alternate routes. We get to choose how we react to these moments for the better or worse.

I have my moments of letting the storms get to me. These moments bring with them a flood of emotions like anxiety, frustration, anger, fear, and depression. When this happens, I find solace in the scriptures. I search for the messages that God has for me to help me overcome the storms. Here are a few that have helped me:

He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. (Psalm 107:29)

The Lord can calm me down and help still the emotions I am feeling.

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. (Psalm 46:10)

I need to be still sometimes and remember that I know God.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; (2 Corinthians 4:17)

Perspective: these trials will pass, they are temporary.

The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. (Nahum 1:7)

I need to trust that the Lord knows me and knows what he is doing in my life.

For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in 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. (Isaiah 25:4)

I can find strength and refuge in God.

And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. (Matthew 8:26)

Faith conquers fear. 

It does my heart good to dig into the scriptures looking for God to speak to me through them, to make some sense of what's going on in my life. There are many scriptures on the subject of trials which also comforts me because it's a reminder that this has been a problem among men for a long time. God knows us and what we need as individuals and as human beings. Life is hard sometimes, He knows that, and He looks for ways to bless us through it and He gives us tools to use to guide us through it.

I'm grateful for the break in the storm this morning, for the chance to think as I walked, and for where it has led me. My perspective is altered, my emotions are calmed, and I have a better outlook on the possibilities of where alternate routes could lead me. I once again have some calm amongst the storms.





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