Safe in His Presence

 As I look at the views of the devastation that the latest hurricane has brought to countries in the Caribbean, to Florida, and other regions, I can't help but think how I would react if I lived in one of these areas.  

I was born and raised in Panama, and you'd imagine I'm used to hurricanes and disasters like this.  Actually, because of its positioning, Panama rarely gets a direct hit from a hurricane.  I don't think it has ever happened.  We get tropical storms and hurricane tail ends...but nothing like what countries such as Cuba, Puerto Rico and other areas get.  We have been blessed with a privilege that is rarely acknowledged except in the midst of disasters like the current ones.

Therefore, I've never been in the eye of a storm of this magnitude.  And the prospect of experiencing something like that terrifies me.  The loss of property and life...the loss of hope...the loss of everything...the uncertainty about the future...none of those things I long to have to go through.  Nobody does, really...but regardless of all the precautions we take...regardless of all the planning and careful strategizing we may conduct...regardless of how we decide to live in areas that are seemingly/statistically/geographically/historically super safe from harm...the storm can always find us no matter what.

No amount of educated decision making that we think we are performing can ever keep us 100% safe from the winds and the waves.  The Only One Who can is the One to Whom they Listen and Obey.  Therefore, the safest place is under the shadow of His wings.  However, the promise is not that we will get to skip the storm...the promise is that when the storm comes, He will be right there with us...and that the future is held by His Hand, thus it must be released out of our mind and heart.  

So, when the tempest pounds on us with utmost fury, and we feel like we don't have what it takes to endure it, let us remember Isaiah 43: 2, 

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

His dominium extends to all of His creation, from the nice and quiet summer evenings, colored by marvelous sunsets and the twinkling of fireflies, to the fury and uproar of the squall, gale, downpour, tornadoes or hurricanes.  Blessed Be His Name, Always.  Amen!