The first thing that Jesus promises is suffering: “I tell you… you will be weeping and wailing… and you will be sorrowful.” But he calls these pains birth pains. And so, what seems a hindrance becomes a way; what seems an obstacle becomes a door; and what seems a misfit becomes a cornerstone. Jesus changes our history from a random series of sad incidents and accidents into a constant opportunity for a change of heart.
~Henri J. M. Nouwen
Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
~ Psalm 16
There is beloved, a horrible storm all about us.
And the turbulence of it all comes so close to us as to threaten to blow us completely away. The storm is external, but it sometimes comes very close to who we are at the core.
Some of the storm is distant and beats against our outer defenses. Circumstance and trouble and situations pound like ogres with clubs against our door. And thankfully we have (mostly) learned from Him to not even entertain the thought of opening the door. We have learned to abide in the shadow of the Almighty. For, even the shadow of the Infinite is infinitely stronger than any attack from any other quarter.
But the storm comes even closer. This writer is no different than any other human being in that he is but a moment from a failure in the flesh, a flash of anger, or the making of some other horrible mistake. And in the transgression – a stepping over the line – we open a path for a backdraft of the storm to come even closer to our inner man. It comes in through the door we have opened and threatens to wreak havoc in our lives.
And some thrusts and gusts of the winds of the storm threaten to rip us open from the inside. The winds enter through the door we have opened and start to throw the normal organization of a mind quieted by His Spirit into a fit which seems to resemble the mind we had before we had the mind of Christ.
But there is a difference.
We do not fall.
We do not come apart.
We do not give up.
We persevere.
Something is different. There is now within us, a most-definitely different person than the person we were before we met Him. There is a part of us that is in Him completely. And this space does not wane, but it is waxing slowly, and grows more bright and sure with each passing moment. And it is this part of us – this new creation He has wrought – that simply stands in the refuge of the Unchangeable. We have learned to confess this as utterly true. And in this agreement with His strength, we do indeed become exceedingly strong.
The weather outside is frightful…
Can we see it? Even the worst storms cannot really touch who we are now. The only thing they can do is howl and beat against us. And the pummeling we take does indeed bring suffering. But the suffering has an unexpected effect now. We watch the wind and waves beat against the Refuge we now inhabit, and our confidence in the Hiding Place He is just grows. And, conversely, we utterly abandon any sense that we can survive outside of His Spirit. For now, any forays outside of His refuge – and into the flesh – now instantly remind us that we can do nothing apart from Him.
So yes beloved, the storm does rage very close to us. But we are no longer afraid. We do, in fact, know that all is well. Nothing can stop us from the path He has for us. Not even ourselves.
Go ahead storm. Rage.
All is well in Him.
