He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor. Psalm 107: 29-30

Stormy Weather

            On our drive home last Friday evening, we were caught in a rip-roaring Midwestern thunderstorm—black clouds boiling, thunder crashing, lightning flashing, rain pouring in white sheets, hail pelting the car, wind gusting hard enough to blow large trees and debris down across the road, flooding that closed roads, etc. It was terrifying to be out in all that with only our car between us and the elements. We prayed we'd get home safely, and we prayed for the storm to be stilled. Peace. We just wanted peace. Peace. Shalom.

            The Hebrew word shalom, is most often thought of as meaning "peace," which is correct, but the fuller meaning of the word is "wholeness." Whether it was the Jews of ancient Israel or Jesus saying, "Go in peace," they didn't just mean, "Have a nice, peaceful, smiley-face kind of day," they meant, "Go in wholeness."

            Of course, it's not just weather that gets stormy and needs to be restored to peace. After the stormy breakdown of King David's relationship with his son, Absalom, a wise woman from Tekoa spoke to the king about his refusal to allow Absalom to return to Jerusalem:

 All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him. II Samuel 14: 14

             Before David ruled in Israel, the elderly prophet Samuel spoke these reassuring words to the worried and clamoring Israelites after they'd belatedly realized their mistake in begging God for a king:

             As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you." I Samuel 12: 23

             So, whatever the stormy situation, whether it's we who have wronged someone, or someone who has wronged us, or some combination of the two, storms in human relationships have the potential for interfering with our close relationship with God. The goal in any disrupted relationship is wholeness and restoration. If, like the stormy weather we experienced last Friday, it's not in our power to change the situation, it is always in our power to pray for change and peace. When we do that, we can expect the following:

He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor. Psalm 107: 29-30

             Blessing indeed! What a blessing it was when the Lord brought us safely into the still harbor of our leaf-scattered driveway last Friday night. What storms are you facing? Pray, having faith that the Lord who is sovereign over all storms, can and will still them. Peace is possible. It is.

 Daye Phillippo

June 2017