"Where shall I flee for refuge,
Hiding when storms are near?
Where find a place of safety
Dwelling without a fear?"
"Jesus alone can save me,
All of my joys increase;
From every storm He'll shield me,
Giving my soul sweet peace."
Early this morning I got up and took a walk. The sun wasn't even awake yet. I wanted to start before the eastern sky turned to its pinks, yellows, and golds. I wanted to watch as God woke up His brand new day. The new day He gave to me.
I walked up the road for a little bit, then turned in at the pasture gate. I wanted to get as far away from "life" as I could. I didn't want to hear the rooster crow, or the cars on the highway, or the noise of the oil well. I didn't want to see the machinery that would remind me that there is work to be done. I didn't want to hear or see anything. I wanted to just be alone. Alone among the tall pasture grasses, the old barb wire fence, the hedge post, leaning to the side, and the big open sky.
My heart hurt. My mind needed quieted. My spirit needed mended. I needed to be alone.
So slowly I walked. All was still. Not a leaf moved on the trees. Not a blade of grass moved around me. No birds sang. No frogs croaked. No crickets chirped. It was all quiet, just the sound of my shoes as they hit the gravel.
This was two days after that tornado ripped through this same pasture, destroying our neighbors machine shed. What a difference the new day made.
Into my mind came the thought....How many storms has this old world withstood? For thousands of years it has stood. For thousands of years there has been tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanos, floods, and wars. For thousands of years there has been things to shake this round earth we live on. But for thousands of years there has been a God who is in control. There has been a God who allows the storms but who remembers to give a calm, a peace. For thousands of years there has been a God who loves, who leads, who shields, who protects.
As I turned the bend in the creek, the sun was just popping its head over the horizon. From somewhere in the tree, came the lone chatter of a bird. It drew my attention, so I just stood there listening. Somewhere up there among the leaves, that little bird was waking up. It was ready to face a new day. It was singing away, as if it had no cares.
I thought to myself. That little bird faces heavy rains, snowstorms, hot summer days, predators, and other things that come against all living things. But this same little bird knows where to find shelter. Every morning it wakes up, it has a song. God knows when even one falls to the ground.
So I knew that God saw me, as I walked along that dirt path. I knew He saw that I needed shelter. Not from the rain, or storms, or earthquakes. I needed shelter from my thoughts, my self control, my "I can do it myself." He knew what I needed this morning even before I knew I needed it myself. So He lead me outside, into the dark, down the road, and through the pasture gate, and into the quiet.....and there He walked beside me.....just me and Him.
Hiding when storms are near?
Where find a place of safety
Dwelling without a fear?"
"Jesus alone can save me,
All of my joys increase;
From every storm He'll shield me,
Giving my soul sweet peace."
Early this morning I got up and took a walk. The sun wasn't even awake yet. I wanted to start before the eastern sky turned to its pinks, yellows, and golds. I wanted to watch as God woke up His brand new day. The new day He gave to me.
I walked up the road for a little bit, then turned in at the pasture gate. I wanted to get as far away from "life" as I could. I didn't want to hear the rooster crow, or the cars on the highway, or the noise of the oil well. I didn't want to see the machinery that would remind me that there is work to be done. I didn't want to hear or see anything. I wanted to just be alone. Alone among the tall pasture grasses, the old barb wire fence, the hedge post, leaning to the side, and the big open sky.
My heart hurt. My mind needed quieted. My spirit needed mended. I needed to be alone.
So slowly I walked. All was still. Not a leaf moved on the trees. Not a blade of grass moved around me. No birds sang. No frogs croaked. No crickets chirped. It was all quiet, just the sound of my shoes as they hit the gravel.
This was two days after that tornado ripped through this same pasture, destroying our neighbors machine shed. What a difference the new day made.
Into my mind came the thought....How many storms has this old world withstood? For thousands of years it has stood. For thousands of years there has been tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanos, floods, and wars. For thousands of years there has been things to shake this round earth we live on. But for thousands of years there has been a God who is in control. There has been a God who allows the storms but who remembers to give a calm, a peace. For thousands of years there has been a God who loves, who leads, who shields, who protects.
As I turned the bend in the creek, the sun was just popping its head over the horizon. From somewhere in the tree, came the lone chatter of a bird. It drew my attention, so I just stood there listening. Somewhere up there among the leaves, that little bird was waking up. It was ready to face a new day. It was singing away, as if it had no cares.
I thought to myself. That little bird faces heavy rains, snowstorms, hot summer days, predators, and other things that come against all living things. But this same little bird knows where to find shelter. Every morning it wakes up, it has a song. God knows when even one falls to the ground.
So I knew that God saw me, as I walked along that dirt path. I knew He saw that I needed shelter. Not from the rain, or storms, or earthquakes. I needed shelter from my thoughts, my self control, my "I can do it myself." He knew what I needed this morning even before I knew I needed it myself. So He lead me outside, into the dark, down the road, and through the pasture gate, and into the quiet.....and there He walked beside me.....just me and Him.
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