God is Watching

“The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” Proverbs 15:3 NIV

In troubled times such as we are living through right now, it seems hard to believe that God is watching over us.  Do not be discouraged, God is watching over us.  The Bible tells us, “He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”  God is there.  We are the ones that look away from God.  God is there.  We are the ones that put distance between ourselves and God.  God is there.   We are the ones that put worldly idols between us and and God.  God is there.  We are the ones living in despair because we are embracing this world as the MOST important thing. God… is… there!

A few years ago, at least eight or nine years, mom and I were headed to meet two of my  aunts and my cousin for a relaxing week at the beach.  We left on a Saturday afternoon, so we drove half way and spent the night.  When we woke up on Sunday morning, we were watching a Sunday morning church service.   I don’t remember which program we were watching, but I remember the special speaker that gave their testimony.  It was the “weatherman,” Jim Cantore.  I have always been a big fan of his, but this morning cemented the why.  The same Spirit that is in me, is also in him, the Spirit of the living God.  His testimony has stuck with me all these years.  It was the testimony of the weatherman and the Christian.  Since it has been a few years, I may not have it down exactly, but here is what I remember about his testimony.

As the weatherman, he talked about physical storms in the atmosphere.   He explained how the clouds can turn black and encompass us, the rain can come, the thunder and lightening can fill the skies all around us.  The wind will howl, the trees will bend to the breaking point.  Things seem hopeless, with no light in the darkness.  The one constant within all of this chaos is the fact that the sun is behind the dark of the clouds, behind the storm.  Always!  Even though it seems like it at times, the sun never, ever goes away.  It is there, it never goes away or dims its light.  No matter what our fears tell us, it remains constant.  It is the storm and clouds that are blocking the light.

As a Christian, he explained that it is much the same with our emotional and spiritual storms.  We are surrounded with chaos, unrest and despair.  All we can see, all we can feel, all we can experience at the moment is the storm.    The black clouds encompass us, the rain falls on us, the thunder and lightening of trials and trauma fill our lives.  The wind of emotional distress howls, the struggles seem that they will bend us to the breaking point.  Things seem hopeless with no light in the darkness.  The One constant within all of this chaos is the fact that the Son is behind the clouds, above the storm.  Always!  Even though it seems like it at times, the Son never, ever goes away.  He is there, He never goes away or dims His light.  No matter what our fears tell us, His presence remains constant.  It is the black clouds of storms in our lives that block His light.

Jim Cantore’s main message that morning was, “Never fear, do not despair, no matter what, the Son is always behind even the darkest of clouds.“

No one, no matter what their status, station, religion, relationship with God, no one, is exempt from the storms of life.  Over the past few months, we have all experienced the storm of the unknown and of fear.  God is still there.  He is still watching.  He is watching how we handle this current crisis.  Storms and struggles come, and will continue to come, as long as this world exists.  God wants us to stand strong.  He wants us to put our hope in Him.

I don’t really know how, or have magical words to encourage through this current crisis.  The only thing I can say is that we need to take our focus off this world and place it on our heavenly home.  We need to get back to the values and behaviors that honor God and bring hope, help and comfort to others.  We need to put our focus back on serving and honoring God.  When we do this, we will, ourselves, be comforted.  Things may not get easier, but our soul will be strengthened.

I pray for you, whoever you are, as you read this.  I pray that the peace that can come only from God will fill your hearts and your souls.  I pray that you will come to know, even through the storms in our lives, God is the answer.  Jesus Christ, God’s Son, born into human flesh, sinless, crucified and giving His life freely, buried, arisen on the third day, will come into your life and change the outcome of your eternity.  You just have to believe.  You will still face storms, but all storms will eventually pass and the Son will always be there when they pass.

During a Beth Moore Bible study, she asked us to memorize the chapter (the WHOLE chapter… <EEK!>) of Psalm 121.  God’s timing is complete and perfect.  Little did I know that this chapter would be a rock for me during one of the most difficult times in my life.  I still turn to it many times when struggles come against me.  I cannot tell you how many times I have uttered, “I lift up my eyes to the hills — where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”   As daunting as it sounds to memorize a whole chapter, this one is really not that long, and is not that hard to memorize. It flows well from beginning to end.  I would highly suggest that you make the attempt to memorize it, in whatever version that works for you.

The most encouragement I can offer in this current storm is that God is watching us,  if you know God and Jesus as your Savior, your soul is in absolutely NO danger.  And as the weatherman says, ” The Son is always behind the clouds, waiting for the storm to pass!”