1st Sunday Devotional – In Storm or Sunshine

The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. …2 Corinthians 3:17 (NIV)

Back when I posted the first of my 1st Sunday Devotionals, I told you how I had once upon a time thought about doing a Hiker’s Devotional. At the time I had maybe fifteen devotionals I’d written when I was playing around with that idea. Since then, I’ve shared a few of them. Even have a few of them here on a devotional page on my website. But I’ve had to come up with new ones too. When you consider writing a devotional book or even posting one on a regular basis, you have to keep thinking up new ideas. Sometimes that’s easy and sometimes it’s not. Since I’ve thrown in the idea of the “hikers,” that makes the idea pool shrink a bit.

But with today being July the 4th – Happy Birthday, America! – I thought I’d let Frankie, who loves heading out on a hike, be part of this post. Frankie does not like things that go boom. He really, really doesn’t like things that go boom very loudly, and he thinks very loud when I think it’s not much louder than a dropped book on a hard floor. That wouldn’t scare Frankie. He doesn’t mind airplanes or trucks. But he does not like thunder. Not even a little rumble. He does not like loud guns, even in the distance. He does not like fireworks, even those little popping firecrackers. I haven’t tested him on it, but he probably doesn’t like doors slamming or the clang of the dryer door. Well, maybe that last wouldn’t worry him.

Tonight with the Fourth revving up as the sun thinks about going down on one of the longest days of the year, Frankie is hiding under my feet. I have to wonder what he might be thinking. Does he think I can save him from the booms? After all, I am pretty powerful. I can bring in sacks full of food for him without giving the first sign of going hunting.  I always know which direction we need to walk in the field. I can chase away a cow if it decides not to be bothered by Frankie’s barks and tries to bother him instead. I can open gates, for heaven’s sake. That has to take some kind of super power in his dog mind.

Then again, maybe he simply thinks two of us is better than one alone. He takes care of me by reminding me to wake up early every morning. He makes sure I get plenty of exercise. He does his best to chase away any of the wildlife that might cross our path. I, on the other hand, feed him. Make sure he has fresh water to drink. Brush out his shedding fur and give him treats. And I’m there for him when he needs a shelter from the storm, but I can’t free him from his fear.

As much as he loves to walk, he wouldn’t go with me now if I were to get up and head for the gate. He wouldn’t trust me enough to step out in the storm with me. If he was on leash, he’d be pulling me back to the house. If he wasn’t, he’d give me some desperate looks begging me to come be safe, but he’d head for that safety whether I did or not.

But aren’t you glad that we do have someone we can trust in any storm that comes our way? The Lord promises never to leave us. Sometimes He makes our storms go away or lessens their intensity. Sometimes He doesn’t, but instead, walks with us through whatever storms we face. We can depend on His unchanging love. We don’t have to wait for a storm to come our way though to trust in the Lord. He is with us in the everyday things of life too. There is no limit to His love and power if we reach for Him.

The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. …Deuteronomy 33:27 (NIV)

Do you reach for the Lord in times of storm and also in times of sunshine and joy?