It’s been a stormy week here in our neck of Nebraska. Hail, tornado warnings, floods and yes, rainbows. The six-plus inches that fell at our place last night filled our pond fuller than I’ve ever seen it. The concrete drain on the dam is completely submerged. Trees that used to line the bank are now six feet under water, and our dock? Who knows when that baby will surface again. As a throwback this week, I pulled up a post I wrote three years ago after another summer storm. Whether your storm is literal or figurative today, I hope the verses will bring you comfort.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11: 28-30

Feeling weary today? Burdened and worn down? Shereen encouraged our directional team last week with some words about rest and that got me thinking. Not all rain is restful. What if, instead of experiencing a gentle, healing rain right now, you find yourself in the midst of a storm?

I was caught in a storm last week—literally. You know that gulley-washer that hit last Thursday evening? Yep. I was walking out of Super Target with a full cartload just as the storm hit. (Not great timing on my part.) Needless to say, I was drenched long before I reached my car. The 30-minute drive home that followed was anything but restful. Between water dripping off my hair into my eyes and a windshield that was fogged over on the inside and covered in torrents of rain on the outside, I could barely see. Every few minutes a flash of lightning would strike and thunder would resound all around me. My car wheels kept slipping ever so slightly as they navigated the streams of water and even deeper puddles that were forming on the road.

Any of you facing a storm in your life right now? Maybe the road ahead is hard to see. Maybe you feel like you’re slipping–as if you are merely moments away from losing control. You wonder how you could possibly find rest in the midst of all you are going through. The answer, of course, is trust. Ever marvel at how a small child can sleep in the arms of a parent through the midst of a violent thunder storm? He trusts in the one who holds him.

Today, I’d like us to turn our eyes to the One who holds us. Read with me the following passages that remind us that our God not only has power to calm the storm, He also delights in bringing his children rest. Then, click on the link in the song lyrics below and join me in singing another Tuesday morning favorite. I pray it will bring rest to your soul.

Psalm 46: 1-3, 8-11

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. . . .

Come and see what the LORD has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

 

Psalm 91:1-2

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Psalm 62: 1-2, 5

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. . . .

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.

Mark 4:35-40

Jesus Calms the Storm

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Psalm 127:2 (MSG)

It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don’t you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves?

Still (click here)

Words and Music by Reuben Morgan

Hide me now
Under your wings
Cover me
within your mighty hand

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father you are king over the flood
I will be still and know you are God

Find rest my soul
In Christ alone
Know his power
In quietness and trust