Storm Warning: Storm Shelter — Tuesday
Psalm 32:7
For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory. (NLT)
As much as I love Kentucky, I’ll always have a heart for South Carolina. I spent twenty years of my life on the Carolina coast—Pawleys Island and Charleston to be exact. In fact, I still have family members residing along the coast. Growing up on the coast, one thing I was certainly used to was the threat of hurricanes.
When hurricane season rolled around, June through November, we were always aware of the possibility of evacuating. Most of the time, it wasn’t necessary, but there were a few times in my South Carolinian residency that our family did have to evacuate.
During those times a mandatory evacuation was ordered, I could never understand why some people would refuse to evacuate—it was quite foolish to me. I’m sure there are a number of reasons, perhaps some good reasons, why they chose to stay. For me, though, the threat of a flood or damaging winds? Say no more—I’m out! Thankfully, our home never sustained substantial damage; we’ve lost some trees and the railing of an outdoor staircase before, but through it all, we were protected.
Just as we have a choice in how to respond to an environmental storm, the same can be said of the storms of life. When those kinds of storms come our way—and they most certainly will—we would be foolish to face them in our own strength. We can’t literally evacuate from the difficult, scary, and heartbreaking moments and seasons of life that threaten us, but we can choose where we run for protection. In this world, there are many things people run to for security, but in my life, I’ve come to learn that God is the only true source of protection. Just like our verse today says, He is our hiding place, the only one able to shield us and sustain us through every storm. And in His great love, He will surround us with songs of victory.
Tuesday’s Reflection
Spend some time meditating on Proverbs 18:10 (NIV) — “The name of the LORD is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”
