"In the Eye of the Storm"

 As we prepare for another hurricane, I heard a song by Ryan Stevenson – “The Eye of the Storm.” I could not help but listen as the lyrics articulated what we’ve all been through this last week – a hurricane of uncertain trajectory! Every part of our state of Florida could be impacted. Yet, the song had been written prior to the state’s latest storm. Interesting. I think the providence of God played in there somewhere . . . just in time.

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I am reminded that storms are not optional. They are a part of the natural system of the earth. They produce scenarios that really challenge individual thought and reason. I weary of people saying that God has judged our state by sending a storm to wash away things He doesn’t like. That's just nonsense.

A storm is a storm. Period. What God DOES want to accomplish, however, is to get people to work together and believe the best in each other. Watching neighbor helping neighbor pleases the Father. It is then that the very best impulses emerge from our fallen human nature. 

We are forced to take inventory of what is really important in life and, in those moments when the pain of overload threatens our willingness to go on, He is right there . . . in the middle of the storm.

“In the eye of the storm, You remain in control;
And in the middle of the war, You guard my soul;
You alone are the anchor, When my sails are torn;
Your love surrounds me, In the eye of the storm.”

(A special thanks to Ryan Stevenson!)

Jim Beaird