Recently, in our corner of the world, we had a hurricane threat. I’m not one to pay much attention to all the weather hype, but the messages we were experiencing were intense. Protect your property and your life. Make sure to have food, fuel, etc. for at least three days. Expect to be without power. News channels reported a potential direct hit by said hurricane.
The day before the storm I was working my retail job. When I got to the store, there was no water on the shelves. I started to feel panicky. Oh no! How could we have slacked on picking up water earlier? God forbid if the water were shut off. How were we going to brush our teeth, hydrate and prepare food? All day, I received inquiries from customers about flashlights, lighters, surge strips and where to find water. I felt stressed out all day. The lines were long. The orders were high and anxiety and tension were in the atmosphere. Despite the chaos I felt on the inside, every now and then I would walk past the huge glass doors at our entrance and observe the sun shining and the beauty of the day. Outside it was beautiful and peaceful, but inside the store with all the hustle and bustle, it was hard to remember that the storm hadn’t hit yet.
The next morning, with more doomsday-ish weather forecasts, I called out of my job, letting them know I was uncomfortable coming in. I spent the day inside periodically looking at the weather. Late into the afternoon, I realized that our supposed hurricane wasn’t coming to our neck of the woods.
This whole scenario reminded me of the importance of taking hold of anything that threatens to bring chaos to our inner world. Oftentimes, the storms and the threat of storms going on around us causes panic to ensue in our minds and our hearts. We brace ourselves for the worst. We worry about outcomes we can’t foresee. We run around in a flurry of activity trying to prepare for all possible scenarios. Many times the impact we are bracing ourselves for never comes, but we still carry the impact of the stress it produced. All the while God invites us into the beauty of the day He has created. We are invited to experience His joy, His peace and His presence. He assures us that He will provide for us and take care of us. He tells us we need not worry. Yet, at the first mention of a storm, so many of us still run out to the store and buy enough toilet paper to last us until Jesus returns.
Storms come, but no matter what is going on around us, the continual offer of peace is always on the table. We can choose peace, trust and confidence in the goodness and faithfulness of our God, even in the midst of chaos. Don’t let the storm around you become the storm inside of you.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:6-7)
