2 I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. – Psalm 57:1-2

 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.

Every time I read this passage God reminds me of how He so vividly illustrated this to me. I grew up in Eastern Washington where we did not have earthquakes or tornadoes but after seeing lightning strike a tree as a young child, I developed a terrifying fear of thunderstorms. Ironically God had us stationed at Offutt AFB near Omaha, NE when I was a mom of two preschoolers. That day in July 1988 we had been under tornado watch all afternoon. As I watched the skies turn green and gruesome, I prepared a shelter for the three of us in our only interior room which was our bathroom. (We did not have a basement). When the sirens sounded, the three of us hunkered down into the bathtub with quilts and pillows to protect us. I read/prayed this passage with my children,and we sang several worship songs. After a few minutes, they both fell sound asleep while the sirens still sounded for over 45 minutes.

Their childlike faith and confidence in God as their refuge and safety until the storms of destruction pass was convicting to me. Yes, I quoted verses and sang calmly on the outside while terrified on the inside.

Now this story is one of those reminders of God’s faithfulness in my life and that I can fully rest in Him as my refuge regardless of the storms that come in my life.

Storms have come in natural disasters, lost jobs, miscarriages, loss of parents, relocating, loss of health and by His grace and faithfulness I have weathered them all. He faithfully uses all of these to fulfill His purposes for me.

Lord, today in our storms of 2020, enable us to see how You are being our refuge and fulfilling Your purposes in our lives. Amen.