Witnessing God’s sovereignty through a winter storm.
A winter storm of epic proportions hovered nearby on a direct trajectory for our mountains. For days meteorologists predicted its arrival with alarming warnings of 60 – 70mph winds and snowdrifts on top of an icy foundation.
It was a bit frightening.
The gale force winds were to arrive on Saturday night, ushering in arctic air, buckets of snow, and ice. We hunkered down and waited.
And waited.
Saturday night came and went. Sunday morning greeted us with sunshine and a stiff breeze — a gentle reminder of what could have been. I was stunned! What happened to the storm? How could the forecasters be so wrong?
But then I laughed.
I laughed at the absurdity of man’s wisdom and then pondered the Sovereignty of God.
For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land. (Psalm 95:3-5, NIV)
How often do we lean into our own understanding, trying to figure things out, trying to orchestrate circumstances and people because we think we know best? I suppose it’s part of the human condition … I suppose.
But how wonderful to learn to trust in the sovereignty of God! To rest in Him and His wisdom, for He does all things well and His heart is turned towards His children.
As Paul Harvey used to say, “And now for the rest of the story …”
A grieving mother lost her 16 year old son in a tragic car accident a year ago. Although appropriate services were given at the time of his death, the mom waited until this past weekend — Sunday to be exact — to have a celebration of his life. Family and friends were gathering from all over the country. A kazillion helium balloons were ordered. Venue reserved. Food prepared.
And then came this storm of epic proportion after countless beautiful, unseasonably warm and sunny days.
Gail* works with my daughter. All day Friday she was distraught because of the impact the storm would have on the celebration of her baby boy’s life. Tears flowed easily and quiet sobs could be heard from co-workers as they went through their day.
But then faith begin to rise and prayers began to flow.
Gail would go forward with her plans to honor her son and trust the Lord to work out the rest.
And He did.
At the last minute, the storm headed south and missed our mountains, thus we all woke to a beautiful Sunday. The Lord our God heard the tear-stained prayers of a broken mother and with a mighty rushing wind, steered the storm away.
Do I really believe the Lord would take care of such personal details? Absolutely He will! His tender love never ceases to amaze me.
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom. (Isaiah 40:28, NIV)
And the beauty of trusting God’s sovereignty? Walking in the knowledge of His sovereignty erases all worry and fear. God could easily have allowed the winter storm to come directly across our mountains and wreak havoc with its arctic blast. And had that happened, all would have been well. His presence and comfort would have still been with Gail. Her son would have been honored. And, even though some family and friends would have missed the celebration, Gail would have still been surrounded by those who love her.
But God chose, instead, to meet the specific needs of a grieving mother.
How precious is that?
Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!
*Name has been changed.
