There was a storm coming.

I stood up and walked out onto the porch.  Leaves were strewn about and the rain was beginning to fall. Darkness engulfed me as the rain-swollen clouds obscured any hint of the usual nighttime sky. Soon the winds picked up and the rain pelted the ground more intensely. Trees were forced to bow as the swirling gusts attacked from all sides, and the blackness was broken only by rapid fire bolts of lightning exposing the quickly forming rivulets on the water soaked ground. Thunder ensued immediately, leaving no time to count between the flash and the rumble. The storm was upon me. Still, I stood.  And when the storm had passed, I was standing still.

I did not always rise to meet the storms, for I used to dwell in a place that had no covering.  When storms approached I had to hunker down inside and wait for the howling of the winds to cease, and only then could I move tentatively toward the window to assess the damage. Without covering, storms brought not only winds and rain, but also fear, worry, and anxiety.

Then I made a move.

And I now reside in a place that provides shelter in even the fiercest of storms. The comfort and peace that the covering provides has become essential, for even after the move, the storms still come. The transition did not stop the torrential rain, nor the buffeting of the winds, but I respond differently to the storms now. Peace has replaced the worry, and assurance has overcome the fear. All because I am now covered.

The storms of life are not always weather related. Often we can feel drenched by the pull of addiction or pelted by the actions of an unfaithful spouse. What about when unemployment strikes?  How does one remain standing in the midst of the howling winds of circumstance? By choosing to stand under the shelter of the Almighty.  Much like a mama bird protecting her young, He will cover you “and under his wings you will find refuge.” (Ps 91:4)  If you haven’t made the move, you probably won’t understand it—it’s one of those things you have to experience. But you won’t experience it if you don’t move.

Honestly, I was hesitant to move from my old house. I loved that house. I built that house. I lived there for the majority of my adult life and it was comfortable. And I wondered what a move would require of me.

I can only tell you that I didn’t know what I didn’t know. This move has been the best thing I’ve ever done and the move has provided so much more than it ever required.  And now that I am here, I can’t imagine ever going back.

Deciding to walk with God is just like that. We are hesitant to leave what we’ve gotten comfortable with and worry over what we think it will cost us. But once you make the move and experience the feeling of his covering during a storm, you will find that you cannot even imagine going back.  And instead of hiding from the squall, you rise to meet it. It was David’s experience in the fields where he defeated lions and bears that enabled him to stand against Goliath, and not just stand, but rise to encounter him.  The Bible tells us that David “ran to the battlefield to meet him.”  That is the posture of one who dwells in the shelter of the Most High.

Are you tired of hunkering down on your own and stressing over the storms of life?

Make a move.