This covering will protect the people from the heat of the sun and will provide a safe place to hide from the storm and rain. Isaiah 4:6 (NCV)
Every spring, a flowering pink dogwood tree steals the show in my garden when blossoms cover its bare limbs. Next, leaf buds unfurl into fresh green foliage. As spring wind currents and rainstorms blow the flowers from the leafy boughs, fallen petals transform the lawn below into a carpet of pink confetti.
As I was enjoying my morning with Jesus today, something outside the window caught my eye: Although the dogwood flower show is over, a trio of blossoms remain securely attached to the trunk. While thousands of blossoms along the outstretched branches had been shaken, ruffled, blown about, and knocked down by the wind and rain, those three tenacious flowers prevailed, unaffected by outer circumstances.
I understood what Jesus was showing me. That was how I need to be clinging to Him amid the storms of life. Not fluttering out on a limb, being blown about by the changing winds of current events. Not hurrying to escape by complaining, consuming junk food, or pointlessly browsing the internet. Rather than being shaken, ruffled, and knocked down by circumstances outside my control, I need to snuggle up closer to the One called the Branch of Life, drawing close to Him through His Word. Jesus is my safe place when the winds of change and storms of life bluster around me.
FAITH STEP: Is something going on in the world that has you feeling shaken? Write it down. Then write, “Thank You Jesus for being my covering.”
