Safe Place

            This has been a crazy summer. In the last several weeks, we have had two storms that have damaged trees and buildings in our small town. When the storms come, one of the first things we do is turn on the television and check the local weather to see what they are saying. When there is a severe thunderstorm or tornadic weather, the meteorologist usually says something like, “You need to go to your safe place.” This means find the safest place in your home and go there.

            Living in “tornado alley” we are trained from the time we are in grade school to have a plan for the storm. We even have drills in school to make sure we know exactly where to go and exactly how to act when the alarm sounds and the storm begins. In our day to day lives, we face many kinds of storms- some severe and some that are just a quick burst. What do we do when these storms of life are raging? When we don’t know how we are going to pay the bills, when our spouse has decided to leave and now we are on our own again, when the doctors look grim and their report is even grimmer, what then? You need to find your safe place of protection and hide there. When the storm comes, it can be too late to make a plan for your safe place of protection. Just like with the stormy weather, you need to prepare before the storms come in your life so that you have a place of safety to go to. There are a couple of areas that you can turn to find your place of refuge.

            Obviously the first place we want to turn is to God. Psalm 18:2 says, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.” We need to make sure we have a healthy relationship with God so that when a storm comes we immediately turn to Him and not turn from Him. God wants to be our rock and fortress. We have to know Him well enough that we trust Him to be this for us; otherwise it is easier to look at the storm than to look at God.

            In Matthew 14:25-33, we read about a storm that the disciples were in. They were in a boat that Jesus told them to get into and they were crossing over to a place where Jesus told them to go. As they were crossing, a storm blew in and the waves became very rough and the winds were strong. They were scared and didn’t know what to do. Then Jesus entered the picture- walking on the water. He came to help them, but not in the way they would ever have imagined. In fact, when he came to help they were immediately scared because the storm was more real to them than Jesus was. He immediately told them not to be afraid because he was there. I find it interesting that he didn’t calm the wind and the waves and then tell them they didn’t have to be afraid; he said they didn’t have to be afraid because he was there. Then to make it even stranger, our impulsive friend Peter said, if it is you tell me to come, so Jesus said come. Peter really didn’t leave him much choice. So Peter stepped out of the boat and headed towards Jesus- walking on the water! He trusted Jesus and started towards him, but then he saw the strong wind and was terrified and began to sink. He was walking on the water, Jesus was right there with him walking on the water, but when he took his eyes off of Jesus and let his eyes take in the effects of the storm he lost his safe place and began to sink. We need to have the kind of relationship with God that we know he is our safe place in the midst of the storm, and we have to learn to be laser focused on Him.

            One way we keep this laser focus is by guarding our hearts and following His paths. Proverbs 4:23-27 says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech. Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.” When the storm comes against you, guard your heart from the things in this world that can distract. Don’t focus on the waves and the wind, but put your eyes on the path that God has before you. Stay on the safe path, don’t even allow yourself to try a side path. When you are worried and things look hopeless, don’t let yourself entertain thoughts of doubt, but replace them with God’s word.  I recently read a few verses in Psalms that were just sweet to me. It is in Psalm 84:5-6 that says, “What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.” I know that the Valley of Weeping is a place and not necessarily actual weeping, but it was such a neat picture in my head that when we are going through a place like the valley of weeping, when we can barely move, when life seems so difficult that we feel we can’t go on, God can turn it to a place of refreshing springs for us. God can do this. He can turn our ashes into beauty and work all things together for our good. It doesn’t mean it will always feel good or that we will always like the road that we have to take to get to the good, but if we let Him, God will always work it out for our good.

            The second place we need to have built a strong foundation before the storm comes is our relationships. As I said, we want to turn to God first, but God has given us other people to be a support and an encouragement. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.” God made us to be stronger together. When you are going through a storm, it is best if you have a good support system through your church or with friends to help you. The important thing to remember is that God is your source and one of His resources is friends. You cannot put what your friends say above what God says. You need to make sure you have a friend that is an encouragement to you. A close friend is one who encourages you, prays for you, helps you, and even holds you accountable. You will probably not have many friends like this, often there is just one or two that are your friends you can turn to in a stormy season. They should be a friend who sharpens you and helps you. When you have a problem, you don’t need to go around telling every “friend” you have because then you open the door to let all those people speak into your life, and chances are they will not all speak the same things God speaks. Earlier, we saw in Proverbs that we need to guard our heart and avoid corrupt or perverse speech, one way to do this is to be very careful who you allow to speak into your life. When the storm comes, it is good to have a friend or two that you can share your heart, concerns, and needs with, but be cautious that you are sharing with people who will build your faith in the midst of the storm and point you to Jesus and not a friend that will feed doubt and cause you to focus on the storm.

            Make the choice now to build the kind of relationship with God and with people that can help you be strong in a stormy season. Get your disaster preparedness plan in place and make sure you know exactly where to go when the storm hits and the posture you should take.

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