Hope That EnduresSample

My Life Is in Your Hands

A tornado whipped through the Panama City area of Florida. The sky was dark, the wind howled, and rain blew through the windows of my son’s house as the tornado twisted and turned through his yard.

Friends from their neighborhood huddled in the bathroom with my son, daughter-in-law, grandson, and three dogs. Their nerves were stretched to the breaking point as the power went out and the wind kept howling. That’s when I got a FaceTime call from my young grandson. He was crying in fear as he said “Grandmama, I think I’m going to die.”

I prayed with him and stayed on the call until my daughter-in-law said, “I think it’s passed through now.”

And then I heard him shakily say, “I’m still alive.” That day—and his scared face—will forever be engraved in my mind.

Dear friend, I don’t know what storm you’re in today, but take your fears and worries to the God who controls the storms. He might cause the winds of life to cease so you’ll have great peace. Or He might allow the storm to continue until He says it’s time for it to end. But if He does that, you can rest assured that you will never be alone in that storm.

This wasn’t the first major weather event that had touched my young grandson’s life. As with so many others, their home was hit with massive damage from Hurricane Michael—a rare category 5 storm—a few years ago, and a tornado also came down their street in conjunction with the hurricane. By God’s grace, they weren’t home during that storm, but the emotional impact of not knowing for eight days if they had a home to go back to or if his daddy still had a job left scars.

Their world has been rocked in so many ways by storms, but as I told Jack in our FaceTime call during the tornado, “God controls the storms, and nothing can happen to you unless it comes through Him first.”

I couldn’t be with my son, daughter-in-law, and grandson through the tornado, but believe me, I sure was grateful my prayers were wrapped around them that day—and that we knew the One who held their lives in His hands.

I love what God says in Mark 4:39: “Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.”

Dear friend, I don’t know what storm you’re in today, but take your fears and worries to the God who controls the storms. He might cause the winds of life to cease so you’ll have great peace. Or He might allow the storm to continue until He says it’s time for it to end. But if He does that, you can rest assured that you will never be alone in that storm.

You’ll never find a safer place to take shelter than when your life is carefully and tenderly clasped in His nail-scarred hand. It’s never fun to go through the storms of life, but they teach us to trust God more, and we can use those faith-building moments to tell others, “God will take care of you. I know that from experience. He has always been there with me and taken care of me, and He will do the same for you.”

Prayer

Father, when the storms of life are howling around me, it’s sometimes difficult to trust in You. But I know You control the storms, so I choose to trust You. Remind me to take shelter in You because there’s no safer place I can be. I’m grateful that I never have to go through a storm without You. When I’m huddled in fear or struggling to stand, when I’m assailed by the winds of life, help me to cling firmly to You and to remember that my life is in Your hands. Amen.

Reflection Questions

1. The storms of life can be brutal. Why does God allow them?

2. How have you experienced God’s calm in the midst of a storm?

3. What have you learned from the storms in your life?

Reach the World Around You

Prayer is a powerful tool. Think of three people who are in deep storms right now. Pray with them, either over the phone or in person. It will mean the world to them and will remind them that they aren’t alone as they go through their storm-tossed situation.