The Peace Before The Storm

Last Friday’s devotional about possessing God’s peace in the storm was more timely than I realized. The first three days of our “relaxing” vacation in a remote area of the Rocky mountains with family was spent nursing my little granddaughter, Claire, through an all-night vomiting session and driving two and a half hours round trip to the rural ER. During a short lull in this craziness, I was in the living room trying to get my bearings and I mentioned to dad that the past few days (and the past six months) were beginning to really wear on me. I felt mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted. He encouraged me to take a hike up to the waterfall by myself and spend some time with God. 

I didn’t know it, but more trouble was on the horizon, and I would need some supercharged time in God’s presence to get through it.

God is so good! When I arrived at the waterfall, miraculously, no one else was there. I sat down in front of the thundering symphony of creation you see in this photo, and I opened my heart to the Lord. All I really had the energy to pray was, “I need you.” There on a rock in the shadow of the falls, I let my spirit rest. For the space of one hour, the typically busy falls were devoid of all humanity except myself. During this time, I asked the Lord to help me draw close. In the chaos of the past days, I had not been able to have my typical two hours of morning quiet time with Him. I desperately needed to feel His presence! Sitting just a few feet from the roaring force of the falls, He reminded me of His power. I knew He understood my struggle. I felt His reassurance. I knew I didn’t need to fret as long as I was by His side. He reminded me of His promises:

“He stores up sound wisdom for the UPRIGHT; 

He is a shield to those who walk in INTEGRITY, 

He guards the paths of justice, and 

watches over the way of his saints.”

Proverbs 2:6-7

I had no idea how much God’s provident protection and sound wisdom would become necessary in the next 24 hours! So many things that could have gone wrong—didn’t. I hiked back down to the cabin in peace. 

At about 7 PM that evening, my daughter Grace and I were making dinner when Claire started a barking cough. Grace said, “We’ll probably have to take her back to the ER tonight.” The Spirit prompted me, and I said, “Let’s just go now.” She knew I was tired from my hike and said, “Mom, I’ll drive.” Again, the Spirit prompted me and I said, “No, I’ll drive.” We had no idea how providential this conversation was at the time. We left the dinner preparation to mom and dad and left for the one-hour drive back to the rural ER. During the drive, Claire’s cough continued to get worse and her breathing became more labored. Grace is an ER nurse, so she knew what to do. She called ahead to the hospital so they would know Claire was coming and could get a room ready. About 15 minutes from the ER, Claire went into respiratory distress. I called 911 to let them know we were speeding towards the hospital with a child who was struggling to breathe. 

I was so grateful Grace was in the back seat with her as she gasped for air!

When we arrived at the hospital, Claire was immediately put on oxygen and stabilized. The ER doctor recommended we spend a couple of days near a children’s hospital. So I drove the hour back to the cabin, got our luggage, and drove the hour back to the ER. I picked up Grace and Claire and we drove over three hours to Colorado Springs. We arrived at 0330. We didn’t get much sleep in the hotel as we kept a close eye on Claire’s breathing. But, as God would have it, we were able to get a late check out at 2:00 PM. Right after we loaded our luggage, a friend who is a pediatrician texted me. He asked if we would like him to take a look at Claire. What are the chances? Later, another friend reached out and invited us to stay with her that night. On our way to her home, I was driving I-25 south and switched lanes. Immediately after I switched lanes, the car that had been behind us rear-ended the car that had been in front of us. We watched it all happen as if in slow motion. It was surreal—that would have been us. 

Amidst all the craziness, God was allowing us to see His providential protection! 

What a gift! Two days later when we were back at the cabin, I was pondering all the way God had protected and provided for us in the past five days, and I began thanking God in two general areas:

1. All the things that DID NOT go wrong; and
2. All the people WE were able to minister TO during our trouble.

I thanked God for protecting us while driving 21 miles of rough, treacherous mountain dirt roads in the inky darkness of night. We didn’t puncture a tire, run into a ditch, or have to avoid any wildlife. I thanked God for all the friends who had been praying for me to have the strength and alertness to drive over the mountains into the wee hours of the morning. I thanked God for a dependable vehicle and that we didn’t have car trouble with no cell reception. I thanked God that we were able to give out Gospel tracts to the ER personnel and the hotel night desk and morning desk folks. I am still praying for the Spirit to draw them to read the tracts and that the Gospel would bring them to salvation.  I was praising God for His grace that we were able to be an encouragement and to have a ministry to the people who had helped us! 

What an opportunity we had to glorify God on this broken road!

And now because this story is written down, God will continue to be glorified. I credit God’s strength and His preparation of my heart in giving us the ability to recognize the opportunities He knew would be presented through these trials. We may have been the only carriers of the Gospel for some of the people we met, right? God is so faithful to remind me that trials break us that and our brokenness becomes an extraordinary opportunity to bring Him glory. 

The interesting aspect of glorifying God while walking through trials is that you really don’t feel broken. Yes, it’s been physically exhausting. It’s definitely not the vacation I planned! But it’s a good tired. It’s like the kind after you’ve run a race—and you’ve run well. You see, that’s what God does when we depend upon Him for everything. Our trouble becomes a priceless opportunity to watch Him be strong through us. 

God is never overwhelmed by trouble—rather, His strength comes shining through! 

I am reminded of the following passage in 2 Corinthians where God assures Paul the Apostle regarding his weakness:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 

And Paul’s response reflects a heart of complete dependence upon God:

“Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

‬ It’s a remarkable experience to allow God to take on our storm!