A Shelter in the Storm
by Gilly Mathiesen
About a year ago, I was travelling to visit some dear friends about an hour’s drive away. I was passing through a town which has a beautiful little harbour, and I decided to take a slight detour to drink in the view and have a quiet time. It was quite a blustery day, and when I neared the water’s edge, I could see that the sea was stirred up and very choppy. My attention was quickly drawn to the harbour to my right, and I was amazed to see the contrast. It was safely protecting many little fishing boats behind a thick, solid stone wall.
The metre and a half thick wall was sheltering these small vessels, providing them with such a place of tranquillity and calm. What I found incredible was these two quite different scenes, side by side, with just a wall between them. I was reminded of Psalm 107:28-30, ‘Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distresses. He hushed the storm to a gentle whisper, so that the waves of the sea were still. Then they were glad because of the calm, and He guided them to their desired harbour’.
No matter what storm is raging, we can trust the Lord to bring us through it and help us reach the safety of harbour. If a storm is what you are feeling today, remember that He has heard your cry and will bring you through. Psalm 18:2 says, ‘The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; … and my high tower …’. There may be storms to deal with in life, but the Lord is like the strong, stone sea wall. He can shelter us and lead us into a harbour of peace. The storm may be unfurling its fury around about us, but we can truly find a place of refuge and peace when we look to Jesus in the storms and battles of life. He is our harbour, our strong tower and our refuge from the storm. He will either calm us and the storm, or He will lead us, to a sheltered calm haven until the storm subsides. He promises to provide us with a place of peace in Him; ‘You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You’ (Isaiah 26:3).
Prayer: Dear Lord, I come to You in my trial and I ask You to lead me to the place of peace, and protection. Thank You for Your promises that You will keep me in perfect peace, as I fix my mind on you, because I trust You. Help me to trust You more and more, with each day. Help me to fix my eyes and mind on You, and not on my circumstances. Thank You for being my safe haven. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Gilly Mathiesen Gilly has a heart to see broken lives healed. She got involved in Christian ministry at a young age, working as a missionary for some years, as well as teaching at a Christian school. She has been involved with Ellel Ministries for the past 10 years and trained and worked on the team in Northern Ireland before moving to Denmark in 2016. She and her husband Steen have been pioneering an Ellel work there since early 2018. They long to see people healed and set free to be all that God has designed them to be.
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