I sat on the front porch this afternoon as a warm breeze floated across the yard and played with strands of my hair. Baby E was pacing the sidewalk with a long piece of grass in his hand when we heard the first rumble of thunder. The forecast had promised the rain would hold off until evening, but with each passing moment the rumbling got louder. The wind picked up and large, heavy drops began to dot the ground around Baby E’s feet. The storm was near. I looked at the map and it looked impressive, the radar populated with greens, yellows, and deep reds.

It rained for a few minutes, but then it stopped. When I checked again, the storm had skirted just south of us by only a mile or so. This time we had been spared.

Life can be like an abrupt summer storm. One moment the sun is shining, the birds are dancing across wind currents, and a hummingbird flits past in a blurry streak of color. But then the sky turns dark. The winds pick up. The rain drips and then drenches. The lightning blinds and the thunder shakes. If we are lucky, we only get caught on the outskirts, but it is only a matter of time before the deluge falls upon us. The storm can come in many ways- the loss of a job, infertility, the death of a loved one, a medical condition, the decline of a marriage, the waywardness of children, and so on and so on. And if it isn’t currently happening to us, it is happening to someone we know.

I have often wondered how people face life without Christ. To me it seems too heavy a burden. I’ve been a Christian since I was 5. I don’t remember a time when Christ wasn’t a part of my life. There have been moments I have kept Him at arms length, moments I didn’t trust him with the most vulnerable parts of me, moments I screamed my frustrations and disappointments to the sky. But His patience has outlived my fear, my anxiety, my endless questions, my continual wrestling. Through it all, the only constant has been Him. He saved me, a sinner, by pure grace- for by my own merit I always fall short.

I’m not sure what you are going through tonight. I don’t know if you are in the middle of a storm, if one just missed you, or if there is one on the horizon, but know this… you don’t have to navigate it alone. God put on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. He set aside His glory for a crown of thorns and a blood soaked cross, not because you were good or worthy, but because He is.

“He who is mighty has done a great thing. Taken on flesh, conquered death’s sting.”

He Who Is Mighty

Songwriter(s): Kate DeGraide, Rebecca Elliott

Lyrics:

VERSE 1
Oh, the mercy our God has shown
To those who sit in death’s shadow
The sun on high pierced the night
Born was the Cornerstone

PRE-CHORUS
Unto us a Son is given, unto us a Child is born

CHORUS
He Who is mighty has done a great thing
Taken on flesh, conquered death’s sting
Shattered the darkness and lifted our shame
Holy is His name

VERSE 2
Oh, the freedom our Savior won
The yoke of sin has been broken
Once a slave, now by grace
No more condemnation

BRIDGE
Now my soul magnifies the Lord
I rejoice in the God Who saves
I will trust His unfailing love
I will sing His praises all my days