Sometimes we know God as our shelter in the storm, our refuge, and our strong tower. And he surely is this! But sometimes God is in the storm. Sometimes you want to just run from the storm and into the shelter, but right now maybe God is in the storm for you – his presence for you, his word to you and his work in you are all to be found in the storm.
When Job cried out in desperation and confusion, God met him in a whirlwind. When Moses encountered God on the mountain, it was in the middle of wind and fire. When Jonah was trying to shelter in the hold of a ship, God had other ideas and sent a storm. And when the disciples were praying in the safety of the upper room, God came as a mighty rushing wind, and they were spilled out into the streets. Sometimes he is in the shelter, and sometimes he is in the storm.
So in the storm you are facing right now, don’t panic and rush away but face it and find God there. And you might ask, ‘how do I know whether God is in the shelter or in the storm?’ By learning to be still in the storm. By stilling yourself and waiting for him there.
Remember when Jesus was still in a storm; he was sleeping in a storm. And his disciples panicked and shouted and said to Jesus ‘don’t you care?’ And Jesus calmed the storm for them but I can’t help wondering whether they missed an important lesson because they wanted to be saved from the storm rather than find God in the storm.
You may be facing financial storms, relations storms, storms in your understanding where you thought things were one way, and then God comes and disrupts things, and disturbs and unsettles everything. But it is to teach you to put your trust in those things that cannot be shaken.
These days they look ahead and name storms – Storm Dudley, Storm Eunice. But in the storms where you find God, you will look back and name them. That was where you learned that God is your provider. That was storm Provision. That one was where you needed to learn to trust God more. That was storm Trust. And this one was where he taught you to get your roots down in him because when your roots down and him, whatever storm comes, you will not fall. And that was called storm Rooted.
So don’t hide from the storm. Be still and find God in the storm, and learn what he wants to teach you in the storm. Ask God what you are to learn from the storm you are facing right now.