The Storm that Rages

What a difference a day makes.  After a wonderfully warm autumn week of temperatures hitting the 30*'s, which would be in the 80's*F, overnight the weather has gotten mighty angry with us.  Cold, super windy, a thunderstorm right over top of the house last night waking us all up with it's light show and loud clapping.  I woke up this morning thinking how sometimes I can be like that thunderstorm.  Brewing off in the distance, if I don't either deal with or let go of things that are bothering me, I stew.  And stew. And stew.  And then all of a sudden, I'm just so filled up with all the turmoil that has built up that it has to release.  I become like the raging storm, big claps of angry outburst, howling like the wind.  Might seem like a comical picture but it is really ugly if you are in the path of my storm.  How much better it is to take to the Lord immediately, and deal with it in prayer and with the Word of God giving me strength and wisdom for handling the situation.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

Phillippians 4: 6-8

See my issue isn't the getting mad or being hurt or the problem.  Everyone, if you are alive and breathing, has those.  If we live on this earth, there will be things come along that get under our skin.  Guaranteed! No, it's what I choose to do with it.  When I stew, when I rehash it over and over and over again, it gets bigger and uglier and more inner turmoil results.  Until it can do nothing but burst in a big, ugly, loud, vicious storm and dump all over who happens to be near. 

Now you may be thinking to yourself that you're not the type to "burst".  You don't get ugly.  You are pretty together in keeping it to yourself.  But really that kind of storm does damage too.  It burst inside of you.  And it will change who you are and it will come out in some way or other, even it's not so visible.  

But the Lord wants us to have peace.  His peace.  He doesn't us to be churned up, and brewing, and a storm waiting to release.  And He has given us the key in the scripture above.  Take all our trouble to Him is the first step.  But we don't just leave it at that.  He tells us to replace those anxious, troubling thoughts that we dwell on with pure, lovely, honorable, true thoughts filled with thanksgiving.  And those we get when we get into His word.

How much better to feel light and calm and mild than to be a raging storm causing havoc.