It’s 3:00 am, and I’m woken up by what seems like daylight. I sit up and glance out the window, confused as to why I’m awake when everything is so calm. There’s no wind, no breeze—just the never abating humidity and a sickly silence.
I’m searching the horizon for any sign of what woke me when an enormous mountain lights up in the sky, burning from the inside out. It’s an entire wall of ominous, black clouds, and it’s threatening to overtake the valley. There are no distinctive cracks of thunder, no heavenly groaning to announce this force’s presence. It is the calm before the storm.
I wait in fidgety anticipation for nearly an hour, suspense growing as the silence keeps it’s deathly hold over the hills. We are waiting on the edge of a storm that we can’t escape. A rustle, a stirring of leaves suddenly breaks the trance as a deceptively sweet breeze gently stirs the land to wakefulness. Faint rumblings and the smallest pitter-patter of rain join in the prelude, each on their own cue. The noise crescendos gradually, as if building up to some terrible climax. Everything that is not secured down starts to dance, flap, bang, bounce, and spiral in an onslaught of violent wind. Brilliant bursts of electricity set the sky ablaze and highlight the low, mangled clouds that are unleashing torrents of cold, biting rain. Tall, seemingly ancient trees bend like grass, protesting with creaks and snaps. Wave after wave of wind, water, and earth sweep the landscape, punishing, pounding, persecuting, purifying.
My terror is mingled with awe and admiration as I consider that this humbling force of nature is subject to something, someone far greater—the LORD of all things. I am ashamed of my lack of trust in He who holds the keys to Death and Hades. As I consider Him whom I fear more than this storm yet love greater than life, the clamour weakens in power and gradually dies away to the nothing that preceded it. This storm, which seemed so great in fury and strength, lasted barely half an hour. It did not, could not, hold sway over any creature’s life. It was a mere grain of sand.
I am so glad that my God endures forever.
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We saw the same "calm before the storm" as well and for the next few hours the storm came and went and finally got worse than when it started, with marble-sized hail, and icy chunks left on the camp paths. It was very scary, being in the middle of a tornado/severe storm warning and being able to do nothing about it. But at the same time, the "pre-tornado" clouds from during the "calm before the storm" were amazing and spoke to me of God's magnitude and His awesome power. I had to remind myself that the storm was under His control, and I agree with you - it WAS a mere grain of sand. God had his hand on us, protecting us. And I know the storm SHOULDN'T have freaked me out like it did. I too am ashamed at my lack of trust in our Savior, especially since I know I have eternal security.
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