There is Beauty in the Storm…
A few months ago, our family was given the opportunity to stay at someone’s holiday house by the beach. It was a beautiful location. It was just a short walk to the beach from the house (pretty much across the road), so we would walk over to the beach regularly.
As we walked to the beach, I noticed something about the trees – they all had grown on a lean. Why? Because at this beach there is a lot of wind, and the wind had caused these trees to grow this way.
I began to think about how many storms these trees have endured. New Zealand is vulnerable to storms. In the summer we can experience storms from the tropics. This past summer, we experienced multiple severe storms that caused significant damage to roads and other infrastructure.
But I was struck by the fact that, instead of falling, crumbling, and being destroyed, these trees not only survived, but thrived. Yes, they looked different because they were growing on a lean, but instead they had a unique beauty about them, because they were shaped by the wind and the storms.
As I was reflecting on the unique beauty of these trees, I felt the Father say, “I know that in life you experience storms too. While I don’t always stop the storms, I do allow them to shape you and form a unique beauty in you. I also allow them to teach you more about who I am and my ways.”
I was then reminded of the time the disciples were in the boat on the Sea of Galilee, and they were in a storm of their own. The wind was blowing, the waves were crashing, and the boat was filling with water. The disciples were terrified they were going to sink and drown. But Jesus was sound asleep.
Understandably, the disciples were terrified – who wouldn’t be? They felt like their very lives were at stake. How often do you and I feel that way when we’re in a storm in life – scared, petrified, startled, like everything is going to fall apart, confused, disoriented, overwhelmed, paralysed, and so many other things. But, if we allow Him to, God can use the storms to shape and form us in unique ways. Once again, the disciples experienced this. They got to experience Jesus’ nature (sleeping in the storm – absolute peace) and His power (rebuking the storm and telling it to stop). This left a ‘storm shaped imprint’ on their hearts and in their lives, forever changing them.
In the same way, God can use storms to teach us more about His nature and His ways, and to shape us in unique ways, releasing a beauty in and through us that will get people’s attention and point them to Him – our own ‘storm shaped imprints’.
Also, in Scripture, wind can represent new life (God breathed wind/breath into Adam when he created him), and the Holy Spirit. As you might be aware, we just passed the day of Pentecost. In the book of Acts, when the Holy Spirit filled the believers who were praying in that upper room, it came like a mighty rushing wind. This ‘wind’ breathed new life into them, it filled them with boldness and allowed the good news of the Gospel to begin going forward into the earth.
Maybe you are experiencing storms in your life right now. Maybe it feels like things are chaotic and overwhelming and you don’t know what to do. Or perhaps you are feeling weary and tired after what has been an intense season. If that is you, may these trees be a reminder that God uses all things for good and uses storms to shape us, creating our own ‘storm shaped imprints’ that bring out a unique beauty in you and me that He placed there. And I pray that you can experience His goodness, know Him and His ways more deeply, and be refreshed and revived despite the wind and storms going on around you.