What do we do when surrounding circumstances are beyond our control leaving us feeling helpless? I found myself asking this very question just last week. I know that God is our “ever present help in time of trouble” but I wasn’t even sure how or what to ask of Him. My head was spinning, and I couldn’t make sense of this particular situation. All I could hear was the thunder, the heavy downpour of rain, and the deafening crash of lightening. Yes, I was “in the midst of the storm”. I was not in a place where I could grab my Bible, which is what I would normally do. I ask God to speak to me from His word as I search the scriptures for answers. The Bible is my comfort food (well, so is chocolate!). I realized that His word was in my heart, and He could speak to me from it no matter where I was. So, with a heavy heart, I asked with a sigh. Now, I have to be honest, I wanted God to speak volumes to me, to this situation, and to do so that very minute. The evening and the storm continued, but as I walked up my stairs, I heard the Holy Spirit speak in a sweet whisper, “I am your hiding place”. Then the scripture came to me that, “I am hidden with God in Christ Jesus.” This was a type of storm that wasn’t going to end immediately as I’d hoped, but He was letting me know that He would keep me safe from all the elements.
It made me think of when Austin was little, and he was terrified of storms. He would run and hide under his bed until the storm passed. Nothing that we could say or do could convince him that he would be okay. He sought his safe dwelling place and that’s where he found comfort. We really began to pray about this, knowing that our faith could move this mountain. One night, it began to storm and I was holding Austin. I told him that he was safe with me and didn’t have to be afraid. He asked me, “Mommy, do you have storm courage?” I replied, “Yes, I do have storm courage.” Then he asked me, “Mommy, will you share your storm courage with me?” “Of course,” I said, “I have enough for both of us.” I continued to hold my little boy until the storm had passed, calming his fears by telling him how we were sharing storm courage.
Soon, thereafter, we were at a camp meeting service, and Austin was with a babysitter at home. It began to storm, and we could hear the thunder, lightning, and rain and began to worry about Austin. One of our dear staff members ran out to call our house to check on him as I was getting ready to leave. She came back smiling with tear-filled eyes and told us he was fine. It was July at the time, but she described that Austin was home singing, “Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright.” Wow, out of the mouth of babes! We were so elated and beyond thankful to a faithful God! He was sharing His storm courage with Austin, and He will share it with us, too! Maybe the storms of life are raging, and we are fearful, but God is holding us all the while. He is our hiding place, and He keeps us safe until the storms pass - and they always pass. And even if it’s winter, spring, summer or fall, we can always sing that beautiful Christmas carol. In our hiding place it’s always a silent night, a holy night, and everything is always calm and bright . . . and we can sleep in heavenly peace.
