I walked in. It wasn’t exactly what I would call “a dark and stormy night,” in fact, it was an early spring evening, the sun relatively high in the sky. It was, however, mostly hidden by dark thunderheads that were heaving a heavy drizzle of rain into the city.
Therefore walking in was nice. There wasn’t much of a temperature change inside the building, but it was significantly more comfortable. The storm was coming, but we were safe inside, for now.
This is significant because the storm of that Sunday was so symbolic of the current events in my personal life. It was stormy, with a heavy drizzle of rain that followed me around. At the time I had no idea that walking through the door of this building would shelter me not only from the physical storm outside, but also from the proverbial rain inside my heart.
I would love to tell you that the things causing turmoil in my life were intense spiritual and societal problems. Unfortunately, they were a bit more cliche than that. Some might call even call it shallow, but I believe that if it were shallow it would not be causing the ruckus that it was.
The parallel between the storms of that day (the physical and the emotional) was not something I immediately realized. In fact, it wasn’t until about twenty minutes later that I heard my pastor pray “Thank you for bringing us in out of the storm,” or something along those lines. At this point I realized how significant the storm was outside. It would be something that God would do. He loves symbolism, I believe.
This church service was not just a church service. It was a shelter.
The storm obviously ended. The one outside I mean. The weather, however, is still not perfect. It’s been a couple days, and it’s still raining off and on. The sun comes in and out, too.
Similarly, I’m still dealing with the same internal issues. I have fears about them, and they keep me up at night. But I feel protected and encouraged. I’m given hope and faith daily that the storm will indeed pass. As the sun reminds us that the rain is not eternal, the Word so reminds us that our fears are also not eternal. In the same way that the Lord will roll away the clouds, he will also roll away that which causes pain in our life.
I think it is also worth noting that this physical rain is relieving the city of the drought we have been experiencing these last few months. Although it can be miserable, it is fixing a problem. Once this problem has been satisfied, the rain will leave.
Lastly, I believe that the most beautiful part of this this analogy is that the Lord in Heaven creates and controls both present storms. The creator of the weather, of the North and the South, of the warmth and cold, is the same creator of Joy.
Remember My Chains 