“Be good to me God—and now!
I’ve run to You for dear life.
I’m hiding out under Your wings
until the hurricane blows over.
Psalm 57:1- (The Message)
Tornado sirens blare. Warnings are posted everywhere. People look out their doors and windows and the sky is blue, the air calm. They ignore the endless warnings scrolling across TV screens. “All is well. Must be for somewhere else,” they mindlessly think aloud, and then go on about their business.
The wind begins to pick up. No problem. Then the sky grows dark and ominous. Rain pelts against windows. The wind becomes an unfriendly intruder on the calm, spring day. People run for cover. Sitting in basements they feel that all will be well. It is a momentary setback—some believe a welcome pause in their day, others believe it an annoyance.
A freight train sounds in the distance and gets louder and louder. Buildings begin to quiver. Debris scatters with the wind, knocking into whatever gets in its way. The storm is here. Children begin to cry and mothers try to calm their fears, all the while, afraid themselves. The storm is here.
Shaking, rattling, roaring—the tornado goes past, leaving a path of destruction everywhere it touches. The storm was here. A hushed quiet envelops the neighborhood. A false assurance that all is well takes hold of them as they come out of their hiding places.
Houses are knocked to the ground. Trees are lay draped over power lines as the lines snap and sizzle. Sign posts are twisted around poles. Cars are thrown upside down. TV crews quickly find their way into the neighborhood with cameras rolling. They look eagerly for a human interest story with the destruction in the background.
A woman sobs into her hands, “My son, he was just here, we were talking. Now he’s gone. He was crushed under a building.” The camera spans out to include the felled house. Unrelenting, they find another victim to film as they experience death and destruction.
When the stories are all taped, crews leave only to be replaced with work crews to check out the damage. Medics have come and gone. Tears have dried but haven’t been forgotten. The storm was here. The storm left. The storm destroyed. But the storm did not come without warnings.
Are you ready for the storm to come? Are you already in your storm? It’s inevitable. It will come. God is ready to hide you under His wings until it passes. Hide under His wings with others going through their storms. Encourage one another as the winds blow and the rain falls.
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