Friday, March 2, 2012

Stormy Weather

When we moved down here to Tennessee (I say "down" since we came from Boston, MA), our next-door neighbor told us what we could expect when spring rolled around.  She was from San Francisco, CA, which has potential weather problems of its own, but she was blown away (not literally) by the thunder storms that come up in the southeast USA.  "It can make your hair stand on end", she said.  And she was right.

Having lived through several now, what I think about and pray about when potentially damaging weather arises may help someone else confronting nature's fury.  I've gotten solid help from these spiritiually powerful words from Paul:  "I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38:39).

I have reasoned, "Well, if all that can't separate man from his Maker, then a fierce storm certainly can't."  And this description of wind, from the Glossary of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, has also reassured me.  Mary Baker Eddy writes:  "That which indicates the might of omnipotence and the movements of God's spiritual government, encompassing all things" (p. 597)

I love the thought that God's government is surrounding us all--not just me and our house but the entire community.  To really feel God's presence at such a time is wonderful, and any one of us can feel this.

While the physical senses tell us that we're subject to the natural elements around us, and that despite the precautions we may take, we are still potential victims of damaging weather conditions--and we certainly can't be blase about potentially destructive storms--still there is no more reliable help than God.  There is actually no other power.

Many passages throughout the Bible reveal God as the ever-present, tender guardian of all.  And Jesus, who was ever conscious of God's unfailing care for His children, said, "He that sent me is with me:  the Father hath not left me alone" (John 8:29).  Nor does the Father ever leave us alone and unprotected.  The Father's comfortin and powerful love is always at hand anytime we need His incomparable help.

In truth, we are not helpless victims of violence from weather.  As the man of God's creating, each of us is governed by God, the divine Mind, the only real source of power and activity.  When we realize this fact with the conviction that comes of spiritual udnerstanding, we can come through stormy conditions without fear or harm.

Whenever weather threatens our well-being, we can meet it through an understanding of our oneness with God.  A spiritual understanding of this is extremely practical, and it's acccessible to anyone reading this blog.  You can begin right now to discern and put into practice those spiritual truths of God and man that will enable you to pass through storms with calmness and confidence that your safety under God's government is sure.