Beauty Before the Storm

 

“And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.” Psalms‬ ‭90‬:‭17‬

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭4‬ 

“For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.” Psalms‬ ‭91‬:‭11‬

Last night, there were scattered thunderstorms in our area. This is very common in the south, especially when the daily highs soar above the ninety degree mark. The thunder rumbled all around us. The lightening randomly brightened the sky. The radar kept predicting a pop-up in our immediate area was less than thirty minutes away. We had every indication that a storm was imminent. Yet not one drop of rain fell while we were awake. As we waited, I walked out onto our covered porch. The temperature had dropped almost twenty degrees in a little over two hours. The wind was gusting here and there, cooling off the scorched earth and rustling the trees' leaves. And the storm clouds were stacked in layers of grey. I was fascinated by them. I have seen many storms in my life - meteorological and metaphorical - yet last night I was drawn to the undeniable beauty of these storm clouds. 

I made a comment about there being a lesson in the beauty before the storm, and a good friend insisted I write a devotion on it. I've been in a dry spell, so I made her no promises. I woke up this morning and headed to our front porch once more. This time the purpose was for my morning time with God. We have great One on one times in the early morning hour. I had planned to read some devotions, say some prayers, have a praise session, and have some 'still' time with Him. My gracious Father had different plans this morning. 

You see, when I woke up this morning, there was evidence the storm had indeed been here. The residual water gently falling off the roof in random, small beads. Tiny puddles on our deck, more moisture than the typical morning dew. Droplets of water clinging to the edges of the leaves on all our trees. Some of our wind chimes are all tangled in the branches this morning! God didn't just show me His creative beauty in the approaching storm; He shielded me from ever witnessing it at all. A very different perspective than expected! 

God wants to show each of us a new perspective. A perspective that is full of beauty, not fear. He wants to teach us how to stand on His promises of protection, and refuge. God desires that we shift our perspective, our focus, onto Him. 

In the Bible, Jesus teaches us to seek God, His kingdom first: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness...”‭‭(from Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬) The Old Testament also shows us that we will find Him when we seek Him: “...you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” ‭‭(from Deuteronomy‬ ‭4‬:‭29‬) I wish I could tell you that when we actively choose to seek God, then we will notice an immediate change. I hear that some folks have a radical encounter with the Lord that instantly shifts everything in their minds, hearts, souls, and lives. The rest of us (🙋🏻‍♀️) tend to see a slower transition. Our patience and our faith is tested - again and again. Our stubborn, sinful nature causes us to hang on to old habits, thoughts, and pains which slow our progress. 

God is more patient than we can comprehend. Every step we take in His direction, seeking Him above all else, likely brings a big, Fatherly smile to His face. Each time we stumble, taking our focus off Him and allowing worldly things to shift our attention, He gently offers His hand to get back up. As we dust off the shame and guilt that often comes from backsliding on our walk with Him, all of heaven is cheering us on. “I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.” ‭‭(Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭7‬)

Well, Niki, that's all really nice to think about, but what does it have to do with the beauty and the storm? I'm so glad you asked! I don't know scripture well enough to say if there's a passage that specifically backs up what I am going to tell you. I do believe that if we study the characters in God's love story, we will see the changes in them as they seek God.

My personal testimony is this: as I have made intentional time with God a nonnegotiable priority at the start of every day, He has shown me His beauty. God has shown me His beauty in the deer. He has shown me His beauty in the sunrise. God's beauty shines in the moon, the stars, the songs of the birds, the crowing of the rooster...even in the clouds of an impending storm. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I could write for days about all the beauty that God has taught me to see. However, you might quickly lose interest if I did! 

The most beautiful gift God has given me in this faith walk, is not something we can tangibly see or touch. It's an action that we can choose to make. I would be bold enough to say that as we humbly seek God, it becomes one of our deepest desires. Surrender. As we seek God with every fiber of our existence, we are drawn to lay everything we have at His feet. We have the most divine example of surrender to follow. Jesus surrendered absolutely everything to become our Savior. The more we seek God - in His Word, in prayer, in worship, in still moments - the more that we will find our desire is to surrender to Him.

The beauty of surrendering to God, is what He will fill us with after we have handed everything to Him. As we surrender our fears, our hopes, our loved ones, our hearts, lives, and souls to God there is room for Him to fill us with His Spirit, His strength, His peace, and His love. Once we are full of these good gifts from our Heavenly Father, we start to see His beauty...before, and after the storm. What about during the storm? That's a thought for another day.

Let us take time today to seek God first. Let's seek Him in every possible way: in our morning routine, in our interactions with loved ones, in our conversations with strangers, in the beautiful world He created for us. All glory be given to God alone.

Lord,

We praise You for Your marvelous works, Your mercies which are new each morning, and Your beauty which is present all around us. We bless Your holy name! We thank You for Your precious Son, and for Your call to seek You always. We need Your help to focus on the things You desire us to pay attention to. Holy Spirit, please guide our hearts and minds. Help us to seek You. Help us to see Your beauty. We ask this all in the name of Jesus, and we surrender our will seeking for Your will to be done. Amen.