Sheltered In the Storm

As I was sitting on my back patio, it started gently raining, yet I didn't feel a drop on me due to the towering oaks and maples that canopy our backyard.

I thought about how God protects his children in storms. No, we don't avoid storms altogether. Our bodies, minds, relationships, jobs, and ministries are impacted by a fallen world.

We get sick. People disappoint us. We struggle financially. We're misunderstood. We grieve loss and betrayal.

The Bible tells us rain falls on both the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). We may have to endure the same levels of suffering - or worse - than others, but ultimately we won't feel the same lasting, devastating effects.

We aren’t sheltered from storms, but in them.

When your house is built upon the Rock, it withstands the winds (Matthew 7:24-25). When God’s sovereign hand allows a trial, your affliction cannot crush or destroy you (2 Corinthians 4:8-12).

Even if we incur some damage, God in His kindness restores us and renews us. I can't explain it, but I've experienced it and God’s Word backs it up.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16

Friend, if you are in Christ, you can trust God is sheltering you, protecting you, and renewing you. Let’s look up to the canopy of protection that covers us daily, even in life’s worst storms. Pray for patient endurance as we rest in His care and repeat these truths as we wait for redemption.

For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me

under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. Psalm 27:5

For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah. Psalm 61:3-4

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:1-2