November 8th
2012
Today is the calm after the storms. I’m looking once again
down Ocean Pathway amid storm destruction and debris. The ocean is now calm and
a slate blue against the gray sky. My mind is reviewing the events of the past
2 weeks, as I watch a sailboat sailing past. The first one I have seen since
the devastating storm which has hit the Jersey Shore
“He who dwells in the
shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the
Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God in whom I
trust.”
Psalm 91:1 NASB
Do we put our trust in Him when the storms of life hit? Is
He our refuge and fortress when the fierce winds come?
It has been less than two weeks since
November 19th, 2012
It was in the 1970’s when I summered in a tent here in Ocean
Grove. The winter had come and there was a freshly fallen snow upon the ground
one Sunday. A friend and I decided to go and see our tent cabin in the snow.
Back in those days the streets of Ocean Grove were closed to traffic on a
Sunday. We parked the car in Asbury
Park and ventured over the foot bridge into Ocean
Grove. The snow was still falling and I still remember the crunch of the snow
under our boots and the silence and peacefulness of the evening. It was
nightfall and the light streaming through the windows of Victorian houses had
cast a glow upon the snow covered ground. We were so moved by the Spirit of the
Lord that we decided to go on a prayer walk, praying for the future of Ocean
Grove, for ministry and for the spreading of the gospel. My attention was drawn
to a certain house and I was so moved by the Spirit of God, that I went over to
it with my friend and prayed with my hand upon it. I prayed that this house
would be a house of refuge and shelter for those who didn’t have anywhere to
go. Once in a while in the years to follow, when I would pass this house, I
would remember that particular night. I hadn’t thought about it in recent time.
It was in June of this year that my family and I were
looking for a place to go for the summer months. We weren’t able to find a
place which would work for us. It was the very day we had to leave our winter
rental, when an unexpected door opened to a place to stay. It was a couple of
nights later, while going to sleep on the floor in this house, that I
remembered that night many years ago. I was in the very house I had prayed at on that snowy night 35 years ago and
it had become my house of refuge and
place of shelter. I thought about it again on the night of the big storm and I
knew I was where He wanted me to be. He provides.
All of this has reinforced in me the knowledge that the Lord
has made provision for each and every one of us. He has seen ahead and provided
for our needs before we even knew them. He saw our sins before they even were
committed and made provision in our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive them. He calls
us to trust Him in the aftermath of the storm. He calls us to “walk by faith
and not by sight.” He is our place of refuge!
“Your eyes saw my
substance, being yet unformed
And in your book they
all were written,
The days fashioned for
me,
When as yet there were none of them.”
“How precious also are
Your thoughts
To me, O God!
How great is the sum
of them!
If I could count them, they would be more in
number than the sand;
When I awake, I am
still with you.”
Psalm 139:16-18
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