I lived in Oklahoma for over 40 years — and from those years, I’ve surely witnessed devastating storms. I’m not a storm rookie. And, I’m thankful that I’ve survived each storm and live to talk about it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Psalm 23 has long been my go-to scripture — especially when someone\u2019s walking through illness or weariness: \u201cHe MAKES me lie down in green pastures. He restores my soul.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That verse is soft as a lullaby, strong as an anchor. I often say, \u201cGod is inviting you to rest — to be restored — because He knows what\u2019s up ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It sounds lovely\u2026 until the green pastures are flooded.
Until the still waters have turned into raging ones.
Until the home is gone, the future unclear, the heart cracked wide open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s when I stop and ask, \u201cLord, what do I say now?\u201d
I\u2019ve told folks, \u201cJust enjoy the roller coaster of faith — lift your hands and trust the ride.\u201d But when life gets derailed by diagnosis, disaster, or disappointment, it doesn\u2019t feel like a ride anymore. It feels like wreckage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In those moments, my words fall flat. But God\u2019s Word? Oh, it still stands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He doesn\u2019t ask us to pretend the storm isn\u2019t real — He simply promises He\u2019ll be with us in it. His Word is still our shelter, even when the winds are howling and the waters rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I know a little about storms myself. In the hardest places, praise became my life raft. I clung to songs like \u201cPraise You in This Storm,\u201d where every lyric became a lifeline:
\u201cYou never left my side. And though my heart is torn, I will praise You in this storm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s the truth. He never leaves. He sees every tear, hears every whisper-prayer, and holds every trembling hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even when the green pastures don\u2019t look like pastures at all.
Even when the storm clouds block the sun.
Even when we don\u2019t understand the \u201cwhy\u201d behind the rain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Friend, take heart. You may not know what the future holds, but you are deeply known by the One who holds it.
And He\u2019s working — even in this — for your good. (Romans 8:28)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So let\u2019s lift our hands — yes, even in the storm — and trust the One who calms the sea and still whispers, \u201cI\u2019m with you.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I lived in Oklahoma for over 40 years — and from those years, I’ve surely witnessed devastating storms. I’m not a storm rookie. And, I’m thankful that I’ve survived each storm and live to talk about it! Psalm 23 has long been my go-to scripture — especially when someone\u2019s walking through illness or weariness: \u201cHe…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22250"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22252,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22250\/revisions\/22252"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}