Look, a Righteous King is coming! And honest princes will rule under him. Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a parched land.
Storms in life are inevitable. They churn, grow, and rage as they move through and sometimes leave hardship and damage in their wake. None of us are immune to this reality nor do we enjoy the results of the turmoil. I am speaking metaphorically, but whether it’s a storm of life or an actual weather event, often there can be much suffering involved.
Some friends gave us the idea to volunteer for an organization with the stated mission to “Connect God’s Resources with Human Need”. Disaster response is one of several areas they focus on to support this mission. Our assigned task was to complete disaster relief buckets in preparation to meet whatever might be on “the horizon”. Little did we know how close that horizon really was while we worked. You see, a hurricane was active and ultimately would pay a direct visit to the very region where this organization stood. We managed to dodge the hurricane (barely) as it approached, but the communities we left were not as fortunate. The storm brought much devastation, especially from flooding, and therefore the disaster relief kits we helped to complete were immediately deployed. Not only to other locations first impacted by that powerful storm, but in the communities neighboring the facility itself.
Maybe your decision to be available might bring immediate relief to a physical need, or maybe you might be given the opportunity to come alongside someone facing a different type of storm. Either way, your willingness to help might just be timelier than you know. Whatever damage those “storms” have done or are still doing – your presence makes a difference beyond what you may have anticipated. You might just be the disaster relief God is preparing to deploy. “A shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm”, at exactly the right time.
