Today's Devotional Thought
October 31, 2012 by Rachel Piferi
Storms
For the last few days, my family and I have been still in our house as Hurricane Sandy showed up on the east coast. The rain started for us on Saturday and just ended yesterday afternoon. We were fortunate to have just endured several days of rain and not the wind and power outages that they originally predicted.
As most of you, we have been glued to our television as we have watched the storm devastate parts of the east coast. And like you, we have been praying for those who have been greatly affected by it.
As I have watched the last few days unfold, I have been overwhelmed with the reminder of how little control we truly have in this world. In my house, we woke up to no power on Monday morning. And, I thought to myself, "Here we go." I figured it was the start to the fierce part of the storm and that we would just have to wait to see when it would improve. But, the odd part was that it did not really get worse for us. It stayed relatively calm as the storm hit land farther north.
Yesterday, I began reflecting on our last four days and our experience with the storm. While we had some warning that it was coming from meteorologists, we really just sat and waited to see what was really going to happen. After we bought our batteries and water, hooked up the generator, and tied down all of our outside furniture, we could do nothing but wait. There was nothing we could do to change the outcome of the storm. All we could do was prepare for it with the few things we did and then see what was going to come our way.
So, we waited. We made no plans because we didn't know what the future held. And we really took it all day by day.
Isn't that how the storms of life really are? And really how God asks us to live?
Day by day. Prepared with prayer and disciplined living, but ultimately not certain of what the future holds. And laying it all in his hands.
When I think about the storms of life, I cannot help but compare it to my last 96 hours. We prepared what we could prepare, but ultimately, we did not know what was coming or what we were really going to have to deal with. We prayed and we waited. We did not make firm plans because we ultimately did not know what was coming. We took things day by day and put it all in God's hands.
And in many ways, there was a freedom in that.
Reminds me so much of the several places in the Bible where God instructs us to not worry about the future (Matthew 6:34) or to not make too many plans for the future as we really do not know what our futures hold (James 4:14). In the last few days, I saw that vividly. As we really just waited to see what the storm was going to bring, we took things day by day.
As I journey through this life with Jesus, I encounter many storms. Some are big. Some are small. Some come with a little warning. Some come out of nowhere. Much like an actual storm, the spiritual storms of life will come often with little warning and while we may be able to somewhat prepare for them, we ultimately have to wait and see what they will bring. Take things day by day and put them all in God's hands.
Not worrying about the future or excessively planning our lives is something that I have struggled with for years. But God is slowly showing me, through the storms of life, what it looks like to let go and let God direct my steps daily. And, I can say from experience, that there is no greater feeling than letting the God of the universe guide your steps daily. Through literal and figurative storms of life, he is in complete control. And by following his lead, we will endure whatever is coming in peace and in victory.
Please know that all who have been affected by Hurricane Sandy are in our thoughts and in our prayers. As you rebuild from this storm, please know that we are praying.
December