A few days ago I opened my door to take my normal 30+ minute walk, only to see a sky filled with gray clouds. I also saw a few patches of light breaking through the clouds, so I decided it didn’t look like rain; at least for awhile. I was right on that last remark, (“at least for awhile)! After reaching my furthest point on my walk, turning around to head home, I heard rumbling in the sky and soon felt cool drops of moisture hitting my face and arms. It didn’t take long for the sky to darken and the drops to get heavier. My pace increased, I skipped a whole block and prayed I’d get home before “it really got bad!” With wet hair and wet clothes I stepped inside my home just as it really did get bad.. Instead of looking like a drowned rat, had I been seconds later, I only looked like a half drowned rat!
So, what’s the point? What did I fail to do? I failed to check the weather forecast to start with. I could have grabbed my umbrella after seeing the gray sky. I could have headed home sooner after realizing darker clouds were moving in quickly. But I didn’t.
How many times do we think, “I’m okay; I can do this; there’s no problem here; there’s nothing to worry about;” only to find ourselves in the middle of some kind of storm?
We can’t always predict when a storm of some sort is going to hit us. But sooner or later it probably will. So, what can we do to prepare for those storms? My suggestions:
- Check out God’s Word. There’s no better place to go to find the best instructions for daily living.
- Grab your pen and paper and write down verses that will strengthen your faith and guide you in making right decisions when you are heading into a storm.
- Take it one step further and memorize what you write.
- Knowing God’s Word is one thing, but it isn’t enough. Put into practice what you’ve read and memorized. Make it a daily habit.
We may still have to go through the storm; but it will be easier to bear when we’ve been walking in God’s truth and we know God is there with us, and He’s shielding us with His mighty word. We’ll be walking with Him under His umbrella of protection.
“He makes the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. …. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” Psalm 107: 29, 31