The wind is the breath of the earth. The magnitude of the wind can range from a gentle breeze to a gale strong enough to blow a trashcan across the street to the screaming fury of a hurricane or the deadly suction of a tornado, which produces the most violent winds on earth with speeds approaching up to six hundred miles per hour. Tornadoes passing over ponds and streams can sometimes drain them dry. Tornadoes occur on land; and hurricanes occur at sea.
Even in the worst of storms; you can still see the Son
A hurricane is a violent, cyclonic storm systems that can spawn hundreds of tornadoes and wreak catastrophic damage over a widespread area. In 2005, Katrina was one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. Hurricanes cause extensive damage because they store enormous amounts of water and energy. To be classified as a hurricane, wind must have a circular speed of at least 75 miles per hour. It’s been reported that a typical hurricane generates the energy equal to the energy released by 400 twenty-megaton hydrogen bombs. If that energy could be captured and changed into electricity, it could fuel the electrical needs of the United States for about six months.
He is a shelter from the storm
By the time a storm reaches hurricane intensity, it usually has a well-developed calm zone which is the hurricane’s eye located in the center. Acting like an enormous pump, a hurricane takes warm moist air from just above the ocean’s surface and swirls it up to great heights around the eye. The eye is surrounded by a band of tall, dark clouds called the eyewall. The wall of the eye carries the hurricane’s strongest winds (which can reach nearly two hundred miles per hour in a Category 5 storm). The eye is usually about ten to twenty miles in diameter and is free of rain because pressure drops to its lowest in the eye of the storm.
Through the eye of a hurricane, God gives us an incredible, earthly illustration of how we can also experience little to no pressure in the midst of the trials that rage like the storms of life. Though the eye wallof a hurricane houses the storm’s fiercest winds and heaviest rain, the eye itself is calm, with no thunderstorms or cloud cover. This is why a blue sky, stars, or even the sun (Son) can often be seen from the ground when the eye of a strong hurricane passes overhead. The spiritual analogy of a hurricane’s eye is similar to when all hell is breaking loose around someone; they can still find God’s peace in the midst of the storm. In Philippians 4:6, Paul says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.” Paul’s advises readers going through difficulties not to be anxious but to turn their fears over to God through prayer.
The peace of God is different from the world’s definition of peace. Philippians 4:7 teaches three spiritual principles regarding peace, and they are; the peace of God transcends all understanding, it guards our hearts, and it guards our minds. The world’s peace is usually defined as the absence of trouble. God’s peace offers comfort in our hearts during times of turmoil. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).
One must hold on to their faith because it will allow them to weather the storms of life and give them peace in the midst of the storm. A person must ask God for peace as they endure the storms of life. David reminds us of God’s peace when he said that even when he walked through the valley of the shadow of death, he would fear no evil because God was with him and comforted him (Psalm 23:4). Anyone can have that same comfort! No matter how intense the trials of life get; one can have confidence during the storm because God will protect them, give them strength, and bless them with the peace that only he can provide (Psalm 29:11).
True peace found in life’s storms comes from knowing and trusting that God has the storm under control (Mark 4: 39–41). Just as one can look up and see the sun in the eye of a hurricane, they can also look up and seek God to find peace in the midst of their personal storm. “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life.” (Psalm 138:7)
References:
How Majestic Is Thy Name, (Green Forest, Arkansas: New Leaf Press/Master Books), 38.
Gary Barnes, “Hurricane,” World Book Online Reference Center, 23 February 2004.
More articles from Joanne on the Forces of Nature:
Rain
Stormy Weather
Rainbows
For more on nature and spirituality
Comments