Shelter from the Wind

Year 5-Day 339: Today...I am grateful for shelter from the wind.

What a tremendous wind we experienced last night. It is not as violent this morning, but the wind still blows. How grateful I am to have shelter from the wind. The walls of our home keep us safe and warm. 

Growing up less than an hour from Chicago... but rural... I know wind. The windy city has so many buildings to help break up the force of the winds, but across the prairie, it simply billows and blows. The unseen force is fierce, reminding us that the things we cannot see are real and powerful, too. 

The trees bend and bow. Flags fly taut. In my college days at Olivet, many skirts were full, pleated and took flight at the most unexpected times when the winds billowed under them. There were many days we carried books in one hand and tamed our skirts with the other. 

Yes, unseen forces can be very real. They can be scary and intimidating. This passage from Matthew tells of the disciples waking Jesus when they are out in a boat. Jesus is exhausted from preaching, teaching and healing and is asleep. A squall storm sweeps in and across the water in a way that the seasoned fishermen in the boat are scared. It must have been intimidating. They decided to wake Jesus. They wanted him to do something fast. 

Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm. The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!”-Matthew 8:26-27

What if... with bigger faith... they had let Jesus sleep? 

Jesus implies that the danger was more perceived than real because he was with them. They had Immanuel... "God with us"... with them. 

Fear and doubt creep in when circumstances seem more real... more concrete than the power of the unseen. It is hard to remember to breathe when the anxiety creeps in but Jesus makes it very clear that they were in no real danger. He was with them. 

He is still a very real and present unseen force. He still longs for us to trust him and to submit to his sovereignty with hearts full of love. "Thy will be done." does not exempt us from trials or storms. But, we are never alone. 

His angels surround us. His Holy Spirit is with us and in us for guidance and comfort. No wind is too much for Him.

Today... we will face some storms, but the one who speaks calm into the squalls of life is with us. "Even the wind and waves obey him." He is the ultimate shelter. 

Today...I am grateful for shelter from the wind.