Thankful for solace in the storm
By CHERYL CRUCE
I speak a lot of my past because the memories help me realize where God’s hand has carried me. The stories are my testimony that bears witness to the God I serve. Today’s writing is a treasured memory that taught me to trust within the storm.
It was late one evening as the storm approached. Our Mom had taken my older siblings to the family car. She wrapped a blanket around me, and my Dad lifted me, carrying me from the house to her awaiting arms. Moments later, we arrived at Lakeside Baptist Church, where I was, once again, carried through the wind and rain.
I was a child of 4 years when Hurricane Dora hit the shores of Jacksonville and crossed our state. As I settled down on the front pew next to my Mom, my eyes wandered to the sanctuary’s altar, and I drifted off to sleep, lulled by the comfort of her voice singing to me. I felt safe; I was safe in that little country church.
Like many, I have faced natural storms and spiritual hurricanes. Honestly, there have been times when I grappled with weakened faith and questioned God’s presence. I have doubted my salvation and known the unworthiness of my heart. I have spent many moments in prayer for a loved one, only to reside in a time of grief afterward. I have seen children struggle, no cure to be found, and I have questioned the fairness of it all. I have known disillusionment, brokenness, loneliness, disease, and despair. However, today grace encompasses my life because I have come to know His worthiness, not mine.
We have all faced the storms of the natural realm and the winds of spiritual hurricanes; life happens. Nevertheless, we do not wrestle against the natural world but with spiritual forces and principalities that cannot be seen with the naked eye (Ephesians 6:12). We wrestle with these domains when we place our faith in anything other than the God who created us. I cannot tell you that tomorrow will be a day without despair. I will tell you that God desires to comfort you. “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14).
Wherever you are today, the Lord wishes to be with you. Do not weather the storm alone. If you are sitting bedside with a loved one, invite your Father in. If grief has gripped your heart, allow His strength to carry you. When you hurt for your children, also know that you are His child; God will provide a way. There is no place we can go from His presence (Psalm 139). He will carry us through the winds and rains of life, taking us to the sanctuary of His grace. Our Father sings over us, quieting us with His love (Zephaniah 3:17).
In this season of Thanksgiving, let us be thankful for solace in the storm, for we are fearfully and wonderfully made. The song says, “I thank Him for the storms He’s brought me through, Cause if I never had a problem, I wouldn’t know that He could solve them, I wouldn’t know what faith in His Word could do” (Through it All, Andrae Crouch). Understand that your Heavenly Father is with you through all things. He will never leave or forsake His children. Trust in His Word today, for we are never alone. You are not alone.
God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Cheryl Mixon-Cruce is Pastor of Ochlockonee Bay United Methodist Church and Sopchoppy United Methodist Church.