Into the StormSample

Introduction

Have you ever seen a storm out West? Storms out there can be sudden and often intense with the open landscape offering few opportunities for shelter. The big, blue Montana sky fills with dark rolling clouds so quickly that it can somehow make you feel claustrophobic. Some animals, like goats, will turn and attempt to outrun the storm. If you’ve ever seen a herd of goats on the move, you know they won’t outpace much of anything. They get tired and scattered and inevitably swallowed up by the bad weather. Their attempts to escape can even end up prolonging their exposure to the storm. Other animals, like cows, will just lie down or herd up together tightly to simply endure the storm as best they can until it finally moves on.

The buffalo, however, will walk directly into the storm. By turning into the storm, buffalo square up their shoulders, assuring the strongest footing against the wind and weather. They also limit their exposure to the storm by passing straight through it. Buffalo still have to deal with the raging storms just like the rest of the animals on the plains, but their adapted response helps to minimize the effects and longevity of the storms for them.

Storms in nature can be scary. There is nothing worse than getting caught in a bad lightning storm (except if sharks and heights are also involved somehow—full‑blown nightmare scenario!). However, the various storms of life—whether brought on by a medical diagnosis, trauma, a bad decision, loss, heartache, or a situation we never saw coming—can be straight‑up terrifying. If the dumpster fire known as 2020 taught us anything, it is that storms can come out of nowhere and impact everything. Life’s storms can be sudden and intense, and just like out on the plains, we find few opportunities for shelter or reprieve. So the question is: How do we respond? Do we run till we tire and break from exhaustion like the goats? Do we just lie down, hoping things will pass quickly like the cows? Or do we adapt our response, square our shoulders, and choose to take storms head‑on like the buffalo?

I have faced many storms in my life. I am well acquainted with suffering, pain, disappointment, and heartache. Despite my best efforts I cannot control life’s storms, but I can control my response to them. I decided a long time ago that I am done trying to ignore the storms. I will run into the storm knowing that even when the rain is hammering down and the wind is at its worst, God is my guide and my shelter.

Don’t run from trouble. Take it full‑face. The “worst” is never the worst. Why? Because the Master won’t ever walk out and fail to return. If he works severely, he also works tenderly. His stockpiles of loyal love are immense (Lamentations 3:30‑32 MSG).

Unfortunately, storms in life are more a matter of when than if. I hate those words even as I write them. I wish I could promise life would be perfect for all of us—nothing but sunshine and roses—but that is simply not reality. We all will face difficulties at one point or another. The question is: In which direction will you run?