Circumstances in life are inevitable. They are no more avoidable than the air we breath or the steps we take. Some are small, insignificant-even welcomed. Others are much larger than that. They are the uninvited ones, the unexpected, take our breath away storms. Moments just too big they cant do anything but shape, shift, and re-define us. Pivotal moments. It’s in these unwelcome winds of change we crave a time-out button. We want life to stop long enough to breathe but life keeps moving. Life moves fast.
It’s Disorienting.
That’s what it feels like to drive through storms. I remember well the day I drove down the highway on my way to see dad. I’d driven that highway more times than I could count. The roadmap was an ingrained compass that just knew where to go. Everything was the same yet nothing was the same. Because dad was dying. I had never walked with someone in death before, at least not this closely. And if I thought long enough about it my knuckles on the steering wheel grew a little more white, a little more strained as I struggled to control an unstoppable storm. I was disoriented and disorientation was terrifying.
Until I remembered I was not driving solo.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Psalms 23: 1-6 ESV
Truth anchored in ways only God’s truth can.
There was comfort. There was peace. There was the knowing that God was there and that God was enough. In the days, months, and years that have followed I’ve been reminded of my desperate need for God. I have craved a return to the basics so-to-speak. There is nothing I have needed more than knowing God more. His word truly is life changing and life preserving. It’s the ultimate compass. It’s the firm ground. It’s the anchor in the storm.
Simple things can be so completely profound
Take this children’s song for example. It’s a song I overheard my son singing this afternoon to himself. Simple enough words a six year old can sing and remember yet profound words to actually put into practice. My heart stood convicted, challenged.
The wise man built his house upon the Rock,
The wise man built his house upon the Rock,
The wise man built his house upon the Rock,
And the rains came tumbling down.
The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
But the house on the Rock stood firm.
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
And the rains came tumbling down.
The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
And the house on the sand fell flat.
So build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ,
So build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ,
So build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ,
And the blessings will come down.
The blessings come down as your prayers go up,
The blessings come down as your prayers go up,
The blessings come down as your prayers go up,
So build your life on the Lord.
How do we stand firm in the flood?
We build our house on the rock. Who is the rock? The Lord Jesus Christ. How do we know Him? We READ His Word. We BELIEVE His Word. We LIVE His Word. Basics. Circumstances are inevitable, yes. But so is God’s ability to grow deep roots in the bedrock of storms if we trust and believe in Him who is faithful always.
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