Stormy Weather |
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The tornadoes and storms came though our neck of the woods last weekend. Those things can be reminders of a lot of things…God’s power, our frailness, God’s protection, our inability to control the weather, and others you can undoubtedly think of.
One thing I was reminded of was remembering what my grandfather and aunt had to say about those kinds of storms in the “olden days”. This was in the days before “Storm Team 12”, before storm chasers, even before radar, radio and television.
I recall my grandfather talking about a “cyclone” as he called it, that came to the southern Nebraska prairie in the late 1800’s. He was talking about the storm first taking out this farmstead, then that home, then changing direction and hitting yet another farmstead, etc. He said that when they went with their wagon to assess the damages, it looked like the thing almost was alive the way it seemed to change direction to wreak maximum damage.
My aunt said often that she would not go to the cellar (she didn’t have one anyway), but would just stay where she was. She said she was not afraid, and that God would take care of her regardless of what happened.
I have to wonder what folks in the “olden days” thought about tornadoes. They didn’t have radar that could see through the storms. They didn’t have the scientific explanations regarding supercells, wind shear, and other phenomena. They just saw what they saw, and had to make the best of it. And my aunt was right, of course. As a Christian, she knew that God would indeed care for her whether she was alive or dead…and she had nothing to fear.
We could take a lesson or two here. First, just as those folks had a limited understanding of tornadoes and storms, when it comes to understanding God, we just see what we see and have to make the best of it. We truly do see “as through a glass darkly,” as Paul said. The fact that we don’t’ see the entire picture (and wouldn’t understand it if we did see it), doesn’t make God any less real or relevant.
Second, we truly do have nothing to fear. We have been told over and over that God will never forsake us, will care for us, and will keep His promises absolutely. And we have seen evidences of the truth of those statements in His dealings with people in times past. We have no evidence to suggest that anything in these statements regarding God’s provision is changing or has changed.
“Be not dismayed whate’re betide; God will take care of you. Beneath His wings of love abide; God will take care of you.”
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