Monday, January 12, 2015

The Midst of the Storm

I wrote last fall about hearing Lighthouse on the radio at a point when I was feeling pretty overwhelmed.  Here are some of the lyrics to the song:

In my wrestling and in my doubts
In my failures You won't walk out
Your great love will lead me through
You are the peace in my troubled sea
You are the peace in my troubled sea


My Lighthouse, my lighthouse
Shining in the darkness, I will follow You
My Lighthouse, my Lighthouse
I will trust the promise,
You will carry me safe to shore (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
Safe to shore (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
Safe to shore (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
Safe to shore


When I heard that song, I felt encouraged that the storm I was in (transitioning to 3 children, adjusting to life with Liz) would end at some point, and I'd reach a nice, calm shore where things were 'better.'

I wish I could say I've reached that shore, but as I listened to the song during our long drive home, I kind of realized that the storm I'm in is probably life on this earth.  Even if things became absolutely perfect with Liz (what does that even mean?), something else would happen.  All three of my children will be a challenge to me at every stage of their lives, I'm sure.  Even if they aren't, I'm still an imperfect work-in-progress.  Some of the deaths we've experienced over the last six months show that even when things are relatively calm, trouble can strike at any moment. 

So the promise is not so much that the seas will calm, but that there will be peace in the MIDST of the storm.  Peace found not in our circumstances or our behavior, but in God's promises to us.  And of course, one of those promises is that someday, the storm really will end, and we will find perfect peace in His actual presence. 

So the last verse makes a little more sense now.  We don't fear the storm, not because it's not there, or because it'll end soon, but because God's love brings peace in the midst of it.

I won't fear what tomorrow brings
With each morning I'll rise and sing
My God's love will lead me through
You are the peace in my troubled sea
You are the peace in my troubled sea

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