God is There
As I sit here ready to write this devotional, my gaze keeps wandering over to the spectacle framed in the window nearby. There is a lovely but intense symphony of sights and sounds. It is very windy just now, and the sky is a warm shade of gray. The trees and their boughs full of brilliant green leaves are being tossed about in grand and chaotic gusts of wind. There is a kind of music to it—a mix of the wind chimes outside the window and their bell-like tinkling, mingled with the wild clapping of the leaves and the anguished groans of the trees…a concert of turmoil…severe and splendid all at the same time.
And just as quickly as I can write this, Act I is over and Act II has begun. There is now a pristine silence blanketing the air, a calm. As swiftly as the performance began, it has ended. And…the softest patter of drops, the smell of wet earth… It strikes me in this moment how very much this storm mirrors life. Our turbulent and stormy circumstances, our emotions, our pain, our fears—unsettling and staggering. We groan in anguish as the chaos about us ensues…but, as God intended, eventually there will be a calm.
Perhaps tears will follow like the rain and bring relief, watering the hot and dry earth of our soul. And like the rain, perhaps the tears will bring clarity and eventually growth. In the midst of the storm though—in the midst of the pain, the unrest, the sadness and uncertainty…and then in the calm, the tears, and the cleansing—there is comfort and rest.
David says: “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken…Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:1-2, 5-8
Today, no matter the nature of your circumstance or whether you are in the tempest or in the calm, God is there. Jesus Himself promises to give you rest if you come to Him (Matthew 11:28). Don’t try to manage on your own. Turn to the Lord and give Him your burdens. Let Him be your refuge, your fortress, and your rest.
Kaite Botello
FBC Aztec Member