In the Storms of Life, God Is
This devotions is written by Marsha, who can be found at Marsha’s Musing. We are blessed that Marsha agreed to write for Laced with Grace once a month, starting in October.
As I’m writing, Hurricane Gustav is preparing to make landfall as a catastrophic storm. Nearly two million people along the Gulf coast have evacuated their homes, uncertain how long they will be away, wondering if they will have a home when they return. Many are not yet back on their feet since Katrina and Rita turned their worlds upside down three years ago. They are expressing feelings of being overwhelmed and asking why they are being hit yet again.
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by life’s events and circumstances? Are feelings of insecurity, fear and doubt whirling around inside you like the tumultuous winds of a hurricane? Do you feel that you are being hit yet again with another storm in your life?
This summer, I’ve had to weather some storms. At times I felt like I was spinning out of control. The problems and events kept assaulting the boundaries of my life, taking from me time and energy like rip currents and high surf strip away sandy beaches.
All I wanted was some peace, stillness, a little down time, and yet I could find none.
One night, unable to sleep because of the stresses in my life, the Lord led me to Psalm 46. Here I found words of comfort and assurance. Contained in these eleven verses, the Psalmist gives us nuggets of truth about who God is. There are three natural divisions within this Psalm. Each one ends with Selah, meaning pause, stop and think about it.
We read in verse 1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Verses 2 and 3 continue with illustrations of natural disasters that can befall us, but verse 1 brings us the assurance He will defend us in the midst of such perils. Selah. Stop. Think about it.
Verses 4-7 tells us peace is secured by the presence of God. God is in the midst, God is with us, and God is our stronghold in the threatening times of warfare. Then the Psalmist says, Selah. Stop. Think about it.
The final portion we see that God is in control of even seemingly uncertain times and the future. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The NAS version says, “Cease striving and know that I am God…” If I am striving, I’m not trusting that He is in control of all the circumstances of my life. Selah. Stop. Think about it.
As I reflected upon His word I gained the confidence that God is greater than any obstacle or storm I may face. I also found assurance in knowing that when life seems hopeless, God wants me to turn to Him and not to my own ways or strengths. He wants to be glorified.
Is there a storm in your life that seems overwhelming? Can you rest in God’s strength instead of worrying about it? Spend some time with Him and give Him those overwhelming situations. Trust Him to work in His way and His time. What can you do this week to apply the truth found in verse 10?
Almighty God, thank You for being my refuge and strength. Thank You for being in the midst of this storm with me. Lord, I want to stop striving for control of my life and relinquish all control to You.
Your Humbly Grateful Daughter,
Thank you Marsha, a lovely and timely post. I will definitely be meditating on this chapter to calm my current storm; not the magnitude of Gustav but enough to upset the equilibrium of my surrounds for a day or two. Thank you again, In Him, Paula 🙂
Oh, the storms of life…I had plenty of them this year. But like you said with the Scripture passage “Know that I am God…”. Yes, in the storms of life, He is the one that can calm us within the storm.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us…
Oh Marsha,
I knew this would be good….
I haven’t thought about the word Selah.
Stop. Think about it. Brilliant.. Just brilliant.. Thank you for inspiring me today. Hugs~
Hi Marsha, Psalm 46 is so powerful. I am reminded of the song we sing as I was reading vs. 10 that you’d included.
How appropriate for today, Marsha. Thanks for sharing it.
I love the Psalms they have ministered so many times through my storms of life. Thank you sis for sharing this beautiful devotion. I knew it would great!
So very awesome my friend, bless you.
Awesome devotion Marsha. I just went through all of the uncertainties of watching hurricane Ike and basically expecting my island to be hit so this analogy is one that I can totally relate to. Thanks for sharing.
Oh my Marsha! I feel like the storms of life continue to assault us in various ways. How thankful I am to have the word..and the scripture you quoted is PERFECT! My heart does delight in Christ my Savior! I miss you like I’ve known you forever! I haven’t had a chance to visit around and leisurely read everyday like I want to ….but this was a treat for this work weary girl. I love you and am SO GLAD you are HERE!
Thank you, Marsha. What encouraging words! This stirred a lot of emotions in me. (especially on a day when I received sad news) I have always loved verse 10: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD. It’s like you want to bathe in the comfort of those words.
Thank you, Marsha, for the reminder to rest in God’s strength and trust Him. He is able to stop any storm and He is the safest of all shelters. He is LOVE!
So blessed to know you are writing here too now. May the Lord richly bless your “yes.”
Love and hugs,
Tiffany