I was living in Houston after Hurricane Harvey. The stories of love, compassion, hurt, fear, faith, ____ were incredible, overwhelming, surreal, ________. I didn’t have the words. So what could I do with that?
What do we do as believers in Jesus Christ in such a situation? What do we do when God allows a major storm, physical or otherwise, to touch our life? I stood still in God's Word when I felt overwhelmed. I had already learned to do calligraphy to help my quiet times with God because I can’t do calligraphy well and focus on anything else other than the words… one… by… one. And in that quiet time I meet with God. Writing in calligraphy helped me still my mind, pray, and listen differently. When I felt overwhelmed over it all I came back to the prayer my Savior taught me to talk to my Father, the Lord's prayer. So I shared Jesus’ prayer with you, though you’ve probably heard it before. I pray that you will pray with me, remember Jesus loves you, and trust that God already knows what you need (see Matthew 6:8 and Matthew 6:25-34). As Christians, when we are able, we need to do more than pray, though. We are also the hands and feet of Jesus. After the hurricane had passed my family was able to help others who had been affected. As I thought back to my response later, I think it fell into three categories that we can apply to any storm that enters our lives: 1) We pray. God is still in control even when our world seems like it is spinning out-of-control. No matter what happens God is Sovereign and we can ask him for help and for him to help others. 2) We serve and give where the Lord leads us. My kids were very little when this emergency happened and I was their primary care-giver. Due to health issues I also wasn't able to help with some of the more hands-on help. So I served my family first and I helped make some meals for those who were in need and for those who were helping. My husband was able to have a more hands-on approach where possible. God used us in different, but useful ways. 3) We believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. When we’re overwhelmed we can recite the character traits of God. God's character gives us renewed hope. He is unchanging, just, loving, merciful, graceful, all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present, to name a few traits of his character. We can also remember the cross—that Jesus Christ, our God, loved us to death and then beat death with His resurrection. We trust in Him and live out our faith. To God be the glory, Sarah Copyright August 2017, Be Blessed Prayer. All rights reserved.
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