Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. — Isaiah 41:10

I have long been fascinated by the storms we experience in the southern US. A warm summer day can start out as the most beautiful day, but then something changes. You see the clouds forming, and they seem to darken. Perhaps the wind begins to blow, and you start to feel a cool breeze, especially on a warm summer day. You can see it in the trees, and you know that there is going to be a storm.

If you study storms, you find that storms have three stages in their life cycle. The one that I described above is known as the developing stage. It’s the stage when you can that there is a storm coming. You aren’t sure how bad it is going to be, but you definitely know that there is a storm coming.

It’s in those moments that you generally find yourself preparing for the storm. If you are outside, you quickly move inside. Maybe you finish your yard work, pull your car under a shelter, or in a garage. There are even times when you may gather things out of your yard so they do not blow over or away.

There are many times in our spiritual lives that we see a storm developing as well. We can see the problem developing on the horizon of our lives. It is in those moments that we must prepare. It is in those moments we must remember who is with us as we approach the storm.

Maybe you see a storm on the horizon in your life. If you don’t, one day you will. It is much easier to go through the storm if you prepare in advance. That means drawing close to God, spending time with Him in prayer, and remembering that He will be with you as you face this storm. If a storm were to come into your life today, are you prepared?

Jared Dyson

Another Well Ministries