Scripture

Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by.

~Psalm 57:1, LSB

Quote

The famous last words of a fool, “I aint going to no storm shelter.”

~Cousin Josh {George Rose}

Growing up, l had an uncle who was terrified of storms. I’m not talking F-5, I am talking about a thunderstorm with rain and lightening. He would make his wife and children go with him to the cellar every time the storms clouds looked threatening. As they got older, they refused to go and he would go to the cellar all alone. We also had a neighbor who was so afraid of thunder storms that he crawled behind the couch: he didn’t have a storm cellar. I have never been afraid of thunderstorm unless I was caught outside with no shelter at all. I do respect lightening. My storm centered anxiety has to do with the emotional storms we endure. When David wrote Psalm 57, he was caught in a storm of adversity. Saul was hunting him like an animal and David was exhausted from his anxious flight. The dark clouds of fear and doubt were hovering over David as his life was being threatened. The threat was real, not imagined. David was disappointed, tired, heart broken and mentally and emotionally drained. He was at his wits end, he did not know where to go or who he could trust. He felt vulnerable, helpless, frustrated and hopeless.

Have you ever been there? If you haven’t, be thankful but be on the alert, a storm is probably coming. Life is a series of storms. You are either entering one, in the middle of one, coming out of one or headed for one. For most of us there comes a time when we have no one to turn to other than Jesus. The good news is that when we discover that He is all we have, we also discover that He is all we need. Jesus is our REFUGE and our STRENGTH. He is our ARK of safety. In Him, we can survive the storm. Jesus lamented, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” Jesus wants to protect us and under His everlasting wings we find the shelter we need. Look to Jesus and live.

In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face,
While the storm howls above me, and there’s no hiding place.
‘Mid the crash of the thunder, Precious Lord, hear my cry,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.

Many times Satan whispered, “There is no need to try,
For there’s no end of sorrow, there’s no hope by and by”
But I know Thou art with me, and tomorrow I’ll rise
Where the storms never darken the skies.

When the long night has ended and the storms come no more,
Let me stand in Thy presence on the bright peaceful shore;
In that land where the tempest, never comes, Lord, may I
Dwell with Thee when the storm passes by.

Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more,
Till the clouds roll forever from the sky;
Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.

Extra

I am in the process of cleaning my office. It will takes weeks because I don’t throw anything away until I have read it so many of the blogs will come from these things I have written over the years. Some of these documents go back to the 1970. Some of them are not worth saving and I throw them in the waste basket but some of them are quite interesting. I am shocked at how much I have forgotten. I found a good story in my notes yesterday and the first thing that crossed my mind was: “How could I forget a story like this?” I am pretty good at forgetting.

Hope you have a great day and I hope you are able to find the blog. They are making things difficult. In the old days all you had to do was type in brotherjack.org and it would take you directly to Eastern Gate Ministries. You do have to spell brother, it can’t be brojack.org. Have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.