“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Is. 40:31)
I was going on a flight recently. Before I left, it was stormy – snowing and blowing, in fact. I am always a little apprehensive about flying so the weather didn’t help that. The take off was uneventful – the whole flight was uneventful. But as we were going up through the storm clouds, the going got pretty rough. My apprehension arose. But within a few minutes, we had risen above those storm clouds. It was no longer rough and the sun was shining brightly. It was beautiful. I could look down and see the clouds and they were beautiful – soft billowy clouds where a person could just lay down and rest on those ‘pillows’ – in complete contentment.
Then my thoughts turned to the experiences of life. So many times we are in the midst of a storm. It is cold and miserable and the wind is blowing fiercely. We LONG to be in the bright sunlight again where it is peaceful and beautiful. I’ve discovered that the way to that bright sunlight often entails going through some real bumpy times – like up through the clouds in that aircraft. It gets pretty rough. There is a storm before the calm. We have to trust The Pilot and let Him take us up and beyond. Then and only then will the Sonlight flood our souls. We are at peace. We can rest in the soft pillows. We can look at those “cloudy pillows” as a learning and growing time.
There are times though when the “storm” lasts a long time. And there are times when the band of clouds is very thick – taking a long time to get through it. We get weary and anxious. But the outcome is always the same – if we trust the Pilot. There is Sonlight on the other side. His grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9)
God has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)
PRAYER – Lord Jesus, I pray that I will rest completely and trust You completely in the storms of life, knowing that these storms are for a reason. That reason is to make me more like You. That is my heart’s desire but I don’t like the storms. Help me to keep my eyes on You, the Sonlight, and rise above the situations and soar like the eagles.
Judy Miller