After several tornado watches and warnings in our area over the last few months, I began to think we should get a storm shelter for our property. I begged for one.  I nagged about it.  I requested it for my birthday.  I researched them. I organized the site visit. And then I ordered the shelter for delivery.  Once it arrived, I painted it and moved emergency supplies into the ginormous above-ground cement and rebar structure.  It’s rated for an EF-5 tornado wind strength and can hold 10-12 people…and then our inner circle started teasing me. They thanked me for purchasing the shelter in the thought that it would be insurance to prevent any more tornado storms from coming through our area.

It might give me peace of mind that we’ll have a safe location in the event of a tornado, but it won’t protect us from all the storms of life.

In fact, Jesus told us that we weren’t safe from the storms of life. He gave us the formula for how to withstand storms by building our foundations on God’s Word.  In Matthew 7:25-27 (NASB), we read “And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.  And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act on them, will be like the foolish man who built his house on the sand.  And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against the house, and it fell—and its collapse was great.”

Our storms may vary from person to person or from culture to culture.  They could be financial, marital, health scares, career or workplace-related, relationships at church…or they could be ones of gossip, lying, and stealing amongst dozens of other scenarios. 

No matter what our storm looks like, someone else has had a similar storm.

No matter how severe the storm is, others experience worse storms.

No matter when our storm appears, God can use it for His glory.

Think about it…Abraham had a storm.  All of Jesus’ disciples experienced storms.  David faced a storm. Everyone in the Bible saw storms and each had to respond accordingly.  Even Jesus faced a life-altering storm when accused and condemned to die on the cross.  It’s our response to the storm that is important.  We see Jesus ask God to remove the persecution, but he does it with the correct heart when He specifically prays for “God’s will to be done.”

It’s important to remember that God will not abandon us in the midst of these life storms.  Deuteronomy 31:6 (NASB) re-states that promise. “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or in dread of them, for the Lord your God is the One who is going with you. He will not desert you or abandon you.”

Does that essentially make God our storm shelter?  I’d say “yes”!  I’m over the moon excited that my family now has a storm shelter on the property as protection against tornados, but I’m even more excited to know God is my personal storm shelter for those storms of life.

If you don’t know Jesus as your personal Savior…if you don’t have confidence that He’s your storm shelter, please contact us at Iron Porch. Erin & I would love to talk to you about how to get that assurance in your life!

~Emily