It’s the calm before the storm we say, and we know it is true both in weather, and our own lives. In recent days there have been some devastating hurricanes which caused widespread devastation across the Caribbean and into some southern US States. Sadly lives have been lost, and equally sad is the fact that these storms will happen again!
When the hurricane is approaching, warnings are given and homeowners start to make preparations by shuttering windows, and stocking up on essential provisions. With today’s advanced forecasting, these storms seldom catch us by surprise. We can react to the approaching hurricane, as we batten down the hatches! Then we tough it out as best we can in the hope that we have prepared well enough. Then a strange thing happens, right in the middle of the hurricane comes the uncanny calm. It seems out of place because we know we are in the ‘eye’ of the storm and it will start again. We have taken the necessary precautions, but this window of calm perhaps allows us to think about our mortality, and the people who are important to us, and trust they are safe. In essence, we get time to calculate how bad the storm has been, and are warned that it will be repeated.
Our hurricanes in life are like that. We usually know when they are coming. There are warning signs, and the wise will take the steps they know will be necessary to ride it out. Our storms will be hurricanes of financial distress, illness, family health, or death of a loved one. I would also suggest it can be the worry of the state of the church, or the strength of our own faith. Sometimes we have to just sit tight and ride out the storm, and then the eerie calm of the ‘eye’ comes. This is the time to hunker down and pray for the things we have no control over, and leave in God’s hands. Sometimes this is exactly the time to re-evaluate the strength of our faith, or our church. These things are in our hands, and we can usually do something in addition to pray.
When the calm of the ‘eye’ has passed, we know what will be coming. It already took its effect on us and will do so again. However, this time we can determine to change something that’s in our control that we didn’t take care of when the storm first hit. It may be time to take our faith deeper and to put some of those fears we carry, behind us where they belong. We may know the storm is coming, but we don’t always understand how it will affect us. That is the very time to use the period of calm. If we don’t, we will be no stronger when the next hurricane hits us, and let’s be honest, nothing is surer. Indeed, the eye of the storm can be a real Godsend.
