Dark Overcast

I’ve been watching In the Eye of the Storm on television.  It amazes me to see the power of Mother Nature as a dark, overcast day can turn into a horrific tornado in a surprisingly short amount of time.  The devastation these storms leave behind is mind-boggling.

Have you ever felt as though you were living beneath a dark spiritual overcast, with the winds of calamity blowing your way?  Sometimes it feels as though our heads are going to explode if one more negative thing happens.  The turmoil can mount with each new occurrence, leaving us feeling overwhelmed by circumstances beyond our control.

But as Christians, we have the Lord to lean upon during times like these.  The Holy Spirit comforts our hearts and speaks peace to our troubled souls.  I believe most of us have experienced this kind of pressure at one time or another.

There’s nothing like a splitting headache to make a person’s day!  But seriously, this kind of pressure reminds me of the orange juice squeezer my mother used when I was young.  She believed a glass of orange juice each morning would help ward off the colds and flu that circulated among the children at school.

I know I’m dating myself, but her squeezer had a long handle that she pressed down to extract the juice from the orange halves.  I can still picture the pressure she applied to those oranges.  It makes me think of those times then life’s pressures seem to squeeze us from every direction.

Getting back to those dark, overcast days when the pressures of life seem unbearable, we need not face them alone or depend solely upon our own strength.  We can cast every one of our cares upon the Lord.  This is the enduring hope available to every Christian: we have a Savior who cares about what we are going through and invites us to bring our burdens to Him.

1 Peter 5:7 reminds us: “Casting all your care upon Him; for He cares for you.”

The next time you feel the onset of another dark overcast beginning to form, stop and listen.  Take a moment to consider what God may be speaking to your heart.  Then rest in Him, surrendering your circumstances and your will to His care.  Let your prayer be: “Not my will, but Yours be done.  In the name of Jesus, deliver me.”

Even when the storm clouds gather and the pressure mounts, remember that you do not have to weather the storm alone.  The Lord is our refuge when the skies grow dark, our peace when the winds howl, and our strength when we feel we can bear no more.

Written by,

Papa Boyd