The crazy thing about hurricanes is how they are forecasted out a good week in advance and yet we still don’t know where they’ll hit, when they’ll arrive, and the impact they will make.

Tornados are quite the opposite; they can blow up with almost no warning at all.

Life brings us many storms. Little ones blow in and threaten our day or our mood, but we also experience the category four hurricanes and the mile-wide twisters that rip life as we know it into pieces.

Think in terms of a hurricane representing a bad diagnosis, a financial misstep, or an ambush divorce. Tornadoes look more like a job loss or a car crash. Whether we are hit with a hurricane or tornado, those powerful storms of our life can knock us over, blow our roofs off, or we can find ourselves in troubled waters that continue to rise.

How do we cope? Can we find peace when we encounter these serious life-storms and tornados?

The Book of Matthew offers a storm-survival guide. In chapter 14, we find the disciples shoving off the shore after a long day of ministry. When a scary storm hit, their first reaction, like most of us, was to panic. Then they saw a “ghost” on the water and they became terrified. But the ghost was actually Jesus Christ, and he gave the disciples this get-out-of-the-storm-card: “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” (14:27 NLT).

“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!”

~Matthew 14:27 NLT

Later, in Matthew 28:20b (KJV), Jesus assures us further with this promise, “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” No exceptions. No excuses. If the world has not ended, then He is still with us. And He will remain with us even in our very worst storms. Lean into these truths, the next time life gives you a storm warning.

“I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”

~Matthew 28:20b KJV

No matter your storm, Jesus is right there with you, and He will see you through.

How has Jesus demonstrated His presence and care for you during a “storm” or “tornado” of life?

Father God, Thank You for Your presence when the storms of life threaten me. Help me to lean into Your Son’s ever-presence. No matter the storm, I trust that Jesus is right there with me, helping me to come through, stronger and more dependent on Your lovingkindness and grace.

Amen

Genre: Non-fiction

Copyright 2021: Storm Warnings: Cynthia Mendenhall: All Rights Reserved