Finding Sanctuary in the Storm

It is late on a Saturday afternoon. I had to get away from home for a bit. I am feeling the pressure of ministry as I sit to write this. Writing is therapy for me. I am able to clear my head as I work through issues with words. So where is the pressure coming from?

Seminole has been hit with a storm of suffering in recent days. There have already been several deaths just this past week. There is another saint on the threshold of death’s door. Add to that a little girl in kindergarten was just diagnosed with a brain tumor. My heart ached as those parents valiantly clung to faith in the midst of a horrible nightmare when I prayed with them this morning.

All of this and many other things swirl around in my mind. It is hard to live in peace when the waves pound you relentlessly. You can barely get back on your feet for a breath before being submerged into the dark and confusing waters underneath another surging tide. When this is repeated over and over again you grow weary and hope fades.

It is difficult to watch people suffer, grieve, be slammed to the ground by disease, death and discouragement. After lunch with Brenda and the boys at Applebees in Hobbs, NM I had to get away for a bit. I had to sit in the sanctuary of my office to seek help and guidance from my Lord. More than just sitting in my office I needed sanctuary in Jesus.

Lord, thank you for being here now. There is nowhere else I would rather be than in your presence. You alone are my source of comfort, peace and hope to press on. I see so many suffering and I feel so helpless to offer them much needed help. All I can do is present their needs to you and trust you will come their aid.

I ask you to pour out the bottle of hope on those today who are barely coping with their circumstances. I ask you to fill their hearts and minds with the hope that only comes from you. I am not talking about the kind of hope that is more like grasping at straws. I am referring to the hope that comes from you who is more than able to do what we need. I ask you to take your peace and let it fill the hearts and minds of your suffering children like fresh air fills the lungs.

I ask you to move remove these oppressive and cumbersome burdens that weigh down your children. They are light to you and only you can move the burdens of grief, disease, and despair. You alone can remove the cares that dominate the hearts and minds of those desperately trying to cling to faith.

I beg of you to let all of those being slammed by the storms of life to find shelter in you. May they one by one come before your throne to find sanctuary and strength to press on. You can shore up shaky faith. You can offer reassurance and promises of your faithfulness. You can move each mountain and do the impossible and unimaginable with the slightest of ease.

I cannot help your people but you can. You are not challenged by the trials of life. You are not perplexed by problems. You are not weary from the weight of the burdens. You are God. Sitting in my private sanctuary with you is therapeutic. I find rest, calm and confidence in you. Sitting with you nothing can touch me. Though the storms still rage, I am protected. You are shelter for your servants. You are comforter for your children. You are sanctuary for the suffering. You are hope for the hopeless. You are counsel for the confused. You are relief for the ruined. You are peace for the perplexed. You are omnipotent and omnipresent for the overwhelmed.

There is sanctuary with you. Because you care and you intervene we can face tomorrow with hope. We trust you to save the day and bring glory to yourself. In you we can find rest and sanctuary from the never-ending squalls that come on us so unexpectedly. As you did in the boat when you rebuked the storm, I ask you speak, “Peace. Be still,” over every tempest in the lives of my brothers and sisters both in Seminole and abroad. Please give all of us sanctuary in you. In Jesus name, amen.