READ: PSALM 46:1-7; MATTHEW 8:23-27

What’s the scariest storm you’ve ever been through? When you’re in the middle of a storm, you never know what could happen. As the wind picks up, trees start blowing wildly. Branches come crashing down. The wind hurtles at the windows and makes a loud shriek. The house feels like it’s shaking—or worse, if you’re driving it feels like the wind might pull your car off the road or into oncoming traffic.

When the rain starts pelting down, the sound can be deafening. You wonder if it will let up soon, or if the storm will just worsen. Rain might turn to hail, and hail is terrifying. Chunks of ice are literally falling from the sky. And then there are tornados and floods and hurricanes. The aftermath of these storms can be devastating.

We never know what can happen during a storm, just like we don’t know what’s going to happen during the storms in our lives. When things start to go wrong, we might want to hide away like we would hide from a bad storm. But just like during the storms outside, during any storm that’s happening in your life, God is there. He is with you. He will help you through.

God promises that He will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5). He knows what’s happening during all the storms in our lives, and He wants to help us. Just look at Matthew 8. When Jesus was in a boat with His disciples, “suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat” (verse 24). But Jesus got up and spoke to the very wind and waves that were threatening to capsize them. And then, “it was completely calm” (verse 26). Just as Jesus calmed that storm, He can calm the storms in our lives.

Jesus reveals that God loves us deeply, and when we suffer, He hurts with us and extends His mighty arm to help us. We can turn to Him during the storm and know that He will provide shelter. The wind and rain might not immediately stop, but we can have peace in our hearts despite the storm when we trust in Him. • Bethany Acker

• Our ultimate hope in any storm is that Jesus has promised to return and make all things new. On that day, He will raise us from the dead, and everyone who has put their trust in Him will live with God forever in restored creation. In the meantime, we can rest knowing we are secure in His arms, and nothing can snatch us away from Him (John 10:27-30). What kinds of storms have you been through? Have you ever experienced God’s power and love in the midst of a storm?

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5b (NIV)