We weren’t prepared for the storm. It wasn’t even in the weather forecast.
But all the same, we lost many of our trees this week, including a more-than-200-year-old oak. It was torn in half by the tornado and then landed on our chicken hotel (it was too nice to call it just a chicken house). All the hens are safe, but they may be free range for a bit.
I am reminded once again that we can’t always prepare for what comes our way.
However, we can still be equipped for whatever comes our way.
To see if you’re ready, try this 5-question quiz, Are You Ready for Life’s Storms, before you continue reading:
In All Things
The five questions on the quiz are designed to help you reflect on your understanding of God’s love for you. If you truly know that you are God’s beloved, you can weather all storms. You know that “in all things [even the storms of life] God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
The apostle Paul wrote those words. And he knew a bit about “all things.” Paul was beaten on a regular basis. He was sent to prison when he was innocent. He was shipwrecked and cast into the open sea for 24 hours. He was bitten by a venomous snake in a foreign country. He often went without food and sleep. He was constantly in danger of people who wanted to harm him, and he was repeatedly cursed and demeaned.
But Paul knew he was God’s beloved. And he believed that God’s love knows no bounds. In fact, he wrote that nothing could separate him from that love, “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation.”
Those are powerful words to embrace.
Identifying As God’s Beloved
There are times I forget how much God loves me, times I glumly walk under a cloud. If you, like me, need to be reminded that you are God’s beloved, here are some declarations of God’s love for you to frequently recite and store up in your heart. I can testify that they always renew my soul.
See what great love the Father has lavished on you. You are called his child! (from 1 John 3:1) I love you and gave myself for you. (from Galatians 2:20) Because you are my child, I sent the Spirit of my Son into your heart (from Galatians 4:6) Wherever you are, I’ll find you—-in fact, I', already there waiting! (from Psalm 139:10) I am working in you both to will and to work according to my good purpose (from Philippians 2:13) Can you grasp how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is for you? Do you know that this love surpasses knowledge? (from Ephesians 3:18-19) Absolutely nothing will ever separate you from my love (from Romans 8:39)