Prepping for a Typhoon
I don’t think most people could say they enjoy struggles or pain… devastation. But yet, we all face it in some form, at some point in our lives… whether we like it or not.
The past week or so, we have been prepping for a typhoon. We live on Guam, so this is not too uncommon for us, but having just survived a super typhoon merely a couple years ago, there is a little added unease understandably surrounding this one.
I can’t say I enjoy them in any form, even the “lighter” ones. The howling winds outside, debris crashing into your windows & the sides of your house. Palm trees tilted almost horizontal to the ground, bending from the intense force of strong winds. Flooding, water gushing from under your front door (& even the windows if the winds are blowing the rain hard enough their way). Dark skies. Uncertainties. Unrest.
Not a good time. Sometimes you lose water or power, have spoiled food, no lights when you’re tired of the darkness, hot humidity in a home with little air circulation. No A/C when it’s always summer heat outside. No cold water to drink to refresh yourself.
Will food run out? Will clean water run out? Will gasoline run out?
It’s hard to tell. You unfortunately cannot predict or prepare for every scenario.
It’s Hard to Look At
In thinking about all of this, it can be easy to let the threat of the typhoon outside become a typhoon inside your heart as well. (& sometimes you don’t even need an actual typhoon for your life to feel like one.)
For me, as scary as the typhoon can be (when they’re really bad ones, like a couple years ago), the aftermath pain is what scares me most.
Seeing the complete devastation, with trees ripped up, plants bare of green & color, destruction to houses & power lines, lack of power &/or water sources. Seeing the hurt all around you can feel completely overwhelming, like your brain cannot quite come to terms with how much loss you see absolutely everywhere you look.
So, what is our HOPE in something like this? When discomfort & destruction are all that surround you?
The Typhoon That Sometimes Rages through My Heart
I think of my struggle with depression throughout my lifetime. How I used to pray the same thing to God, wondering how He could possibly love me so much while allowing so much pain & heaviness to reside permanently in my heart during some seasons… no explanation, nothing to “fix,” just pain all the time with seemingly no explanation for it.
His answer surprised me when it finally came, “Think of all those who go to church on Sundays & pray before a meal & that’s all they ever experience of Me… they go through their whole lives oblivious of all that I Am & can be for them if they allow Me to be Lord over the entirety of their lives… but you, you have not been awarded that so-called luxury. You have been forced over & over & OVER again into recognizing the very real reality that you cannot indeed live your life on your own… that you NEED Me.”
Everything came into focus that day. How all of that agony & pain was not for nothing… not an ounce of it was ever wasted. It drew me nearer & nearer to my Savior. It forced me to recognize my need of Him vs lulled into believing I could live life my way, by my own strength &/or wisdom. By my own power.
We’re Not the Ones in Control after All
The typhoon is similar. It’s scary. It will probably destroy a lot. It will not be fun. The aftermath will be even harder… but it will be a reminder….
We are not the ones in control—HE IS.
May it draw others into the arms of Jesus, too, to see where all their needs are met. To see Who holds the power… Who holds the HOPE.
And beyond that, come what may, in whatever pain I may face, outside the walls of my home, or within the walls of my heart… may it be a beacon of hope for others.
That my hope does not rest in me. It does not rest in the storm quieting. It does not rest in wishing for little-to-no destruction.
It rests in Him.
Where I Find Hope When Facing a Typhoon–Outside or in My Heart
And come what may, may He use this storm to glorify Himself through me.
That in any suffering or hurt I face, they see Him as my enough, my sufficiency, my all.
That in any suffering or hurt I may face, they see that God is in control. God holds the authority & the power & the HOPE.
May God use it for them to see in me their own need for HIM.
To God be the glory, forever & ever… even in the face of the storm. Amen.
Hope in the Storm
And that is why I can have HOPE in this storm. Not because I will enjoy it, but because I know He will not waste it. He can use my experience with it to help others see their need for Him. He can draw others to Himself through it. He can draw me closer to Him as my help & my refuge, my very present help in time of need.
To God be the glory! The One Whom the winds & the waves obey!
“So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (Matthew 8:28)
Shine HOPE by turning to Him in & out of the storms in your life, whether they be threats of winds & waves outside, or in your heart. God is in control.
“God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble….” (Psalm 46:1)
“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)
***He is waiting for you… will you come?:***
***(Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8-10; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 10:9-10; John 14:6)***
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Elva Crystal Necklace, Handcrafted in India!
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