Wednesday, January 20, 2010

R.E.A.L. Women's Devotional - A Stormy Forecast



Out of the five day forecast, today was supposed to be the least amount of rain, according to the weatherman. Around 10:00 am, I decided it was as good a time as any to run my usual errands. The clouds began to roll in and with every passing hour, it began to get darker. Looking at the dark clouds overhead, I decided it was time to head home. I no sooner walked in the door and the drops began to fall.

I turned on the television and the Emergency Alert System flashed across my screen with a tornado warning. California is not known to have tornadoes. I listened to the weatherman, as the programming had been interuppted for the special announcement. Suddenly the winds kicked up and the rain came down hard. Next thing I know my patio was a disaster area. One of my potted trees had fallen over and dirt and mud was everywhere. I went outside to stand it back up. Moments later another one of my plants fell over and again dirt. As I was picking up the second plant, I noticed the soil at the roots was very dry. I thought about watering it the other day, but I didn't knowing we were going to get some rain.

The rain came down hard and the wind blew intently. Thunder and lightning soon joined this weather symphany. When I lived in Tennessee, I used to count the seconds between the lighting and thunder so I could tell how quick the storm was passing through. It lasted about an hour and soon the sun peered through the clouds.

Outside my front door, another tree had fallen into the walk way and had broken at the bottom of the trunk. I had to pick my kids up from school at that time and as I drove into the parking lot, I saw another tree that had not been able to weather the storm. It seemed as though now my eyes had been open to fallen trees. As I turned down a street near my home, an incredibly large pine tree had fallen bringing up the roots and dirt. It blocked a whole street. Then the Holy Spirit spoke to me using these trees to talk to me about the importance of getting into the Word and spending time with the Lord.

Ladies, as we step out in this season to read through the Bible, it is going to become an anchor that will sustain you in the times of the storms. You see the plant on my patio didn't have any water underneath the topsoil to weight it down when the wind came. Allow Jesus, the Living Water, to fill you up so you will never be so dry that you can't stand through a storm. (John 4:14) Do not depend on others to fill you up. You've got to do it yourself. Two of the trees that I saw were young trees and they were planted in the ground. They were not strong enough to stand up to the wind. But the large pine tree looked as though it should have had roots deep enough to keep it from falling over. Sometimes, we who have followed Jesus for a long period of time, look like we can handle it, but somewhere we stopped going deeper in our relationship with him, and often find ourselves unable to withstand the winds of life that blow our way.

Proverbs 10:25 says, "When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever." Proverbs 10:30 says, "The righteous will never be uprooted..." I want to encourage you today, to make sure you water yourself daily with Word of God. Continue to pursue the Lord that your roots may grow down into the soil of God's love and keep you strong! (Ephesians 3:17 NLT) Psalms 92:12 & 13 promises "The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; 13 planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God." We are His orchard.

The five day forecast calls for two more storms to pass through our region. Life's forecast may have a few storms headed your way, but know this, the Son is still shining on the other side of those clouds and He will breakthrough.