For He Controls the Wind and the Storm

Did you know that Nashville gets more rain than Seattle? Google it. It’s true. I know, firsthand, how true it is, because until this past summer, I was a full-blown Nashvillian for almost a decade. And oh my goodness, the weather there is severe and soggy and insane. I adore Nashville and miss it almost every day. But, the weather? No.

When I lived in Nashville, tornado warnings were just a regular part of life. But since moving to southern California, I haven’t been anxious about the weather one single time. The climate here is weirdly perfect, every moment, all the time. I don’t keep a crib mattress and bike helmets near the most centrally located bathroom in our house anymore, because we don’t have to pile in there at 2 a.m. because we never get woken up by weather sirens. That’s wonderful. 

However, since moving, my life has felt stormier than ever. During the first month in our new house, I lost two members of my small family—Uncle Jimmy and Grandma Marlene. Gone from my life, just like that. The pain felt impossible. The grief hit me worse than the straight-line winds in Tennessee that took our trees down last year.

But as painful as that storm of death and grieving felt, I knew I was not alone.

In Matthew 14, we read about Jesus and His infamous walk on water. The disciples responded with panic and “cried out in fear” (Matthew 14:26). But Jesus responded, “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (v.27). 

We can have courage because the Jesus who forgives our sins—the Jesus who already conquered death when He walked out of His own grave—is acquainted with our suffering and can walk on water like it’s flat, dry land.

We don’t have to fear the strength of the Tennessee wind or the heartbreaks of life in California when we are in the care of a God who “causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth” and “brings the wind from his storehouses” (Psalm 135:7). 

God is strong and God loves us and we know this for sure, because Jesus humbled Himself and came down from heaven. In love, He chose to dwell here with us, in this world full of tragedies and death and chaos. But unlike us, He’s not hiding under a mattress or hoarding bike helmets. He’s not afraid of tornadoes and He’s not afraid of the diseases that take away the people we love. He’s not afraid, because He’s in control. And because He’s in control, we don’t have to be afraid either. 

In Christ, we have a far greater hope than a pleasant forecast. We have hope of a future life everlasting, free of pain. What a gift that Jesus speaks to us. “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”