In the eye of the storm, I found revival
My knees hit the ground and my face burned with all of the fresh falling tears that turned into sobs.....uncontrollable sobs that I had not had in quite a long time.
I stayed on the floor, on my knees, waiting for the sobs to slow, when I heard a voice loud and clear. He said "my sweet child, you can continue to cry, but for once in your life, please let your burdens go. I never meant for you to carry anything by yourself. I have them all in my hands but you must decide now, in this moment, before getting up, are you going to keep trying to control it all by yourself or are you going to finally let me have it all? Through the uncontrollable sobs I recognized my weak voice replying, please God, take them all from me, because I am so very tired.
The rain started to fall gently outside and I heard the song "Eye of the Storm" playing in the background on the radio.
The rain started to fall gently outside and I heard the song "Eye of the Storm" playing in the background on the radio.
In the eye of the storm, You remain in control
And in the middle of the war, You guard my soul
You alone are the anchor, when my sails are torn
Your love surrounds me in the eye of the storm
When the solid ground is falling out from underneath my feet
Between the black skies, and my red eyes, I can barely see
When I realize I've been sold out by my friends and my family
I can feel the rain reminding me
In the eye of the storm, You remain in control
In the middle of the war, You guard my soul
You alone are the anchor, when my sails are torn
Your love surrounds me in the eye of the storm
Mmm, when my hopes and dreams are far from me, and I'm runnin' out of faith
I see the future I picture slowly fade away
And when the tears of pain and heartache are falling down my face
I find my peace in Jesus' name
In the eye of the storm, You remain in control
In the middle of the war, You guard my soul
You alone are the anchor, when my sails are torn
Your love surrounds me in the eye of the storm
Song lyrics can be moving and the music that plays along side it can sooth the soul.
I have early memories of my Elmore family gathering together to eat and to sing. Many weekends gathered together in someones living room or basement playing guitars and singing together. I grew up with a great respect of the talent of singers, writers, performers and the bands and the crew that operate the talent behind it all. One of my favorites, Mr. Ronnie Van Zant comes to my mind. He sings a song called simple man about a life that can be lived by the small things that we learn to hold onto and not the fantasy.
Mama told me when I was young
"Come sit beside me, my only son
And listen closely to what I say
And if you do this it'll help you some sunny day"
"Oh, take your time, don't live too fast
Troubles will come and they will pass
You'll find a woman and you'll find love
And don't forget, son, there is someone up above"
"And be a simple kind of man
Oh, be something you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won't you do this for me, son, if you can"
"Forget your lust for the rich man's gold
All that you need is in your soul
And you can do this, oh baby, if you try
All that I want for you, my son, is to be satisfied"
"And be a simple kind of man
Oh, be something you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won't you do this for me, son, if you can"
I have early memories of my Elmore family gathering together to eat and to sing. Many weekends gathered together in someones living room or basement playing guitars and singing together. I grew up with a great respect of the talent of singers, writers, performers and the bands and the crew that operate the talent behind it all. One of my favorites, Mr. Ronnie Van Zant comes to my mind. He sings a song called simple man about a life that can be lived by the small things that we learn to hold onto and not the fantasy.
Mama told me when I was young
"Come sit beside me, my only son
And listen closely to what I say
And if you do this it'll help you some sunny day"
"Oh, take your time, don't live too fast
Troubles will come and they will pass
You'll find a woman and you'll find love
And don't forget, son, there is someone up above"
"And be a simple kind of man
Oh, be something you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won't you do this for me, son, if you can"
"Forget your lust for the rich man's gold
All that you need is in your soul
And you can do this, oh baby, if you try
All that I want for you, my son, is to be satisfied"
"And be a simple kind of man
Oh, be something you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won't you do this for me, son, if you can"
Ronnie and his band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, wrote that song in 1973, 3 1/2 years before they boarded a private plane that crashed over a swamp in Mississippi, killing half of the band, including Ronnie. I am sure that when Ronnie woke up that October morning that his thoughts were not death or dying, but their destination that they had chosen for their next concert. Funny thing is, God had already chosen their path that day and he has already chosen ours. He knew that on Saturday night, the 13th of August, I would be on my knees crying out to him to revive me. I could feel the weakness and my ability to want to get up was nonexistent. I believe whole heartedly that it is those moments when we are at rock bottom that God is either so present or seemingly so far away. To me at that moment, God was so clear in the moments that seemed I had nothing left......How did I ever end up here?
Believe me or not, it goes all the way back to the 2nd book of the bible, Exodus.
The King of Egypt's heart had been hardened and he pursued the Israelites who had run from their life of Exile in Egypt. He had gathered up an army and made chase after them. When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly, And the people of the Lord cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?
The Israelites were standing at a crossroads and the only thing that they saw was the comfort of their slavery surroundings behind them and wanting to go back to their old life of safety rather then trusting and following God. I was there.
I came to the sea and saw the water, the only thing I had was fear.
Fear of the unknown, fear of falling away from the life that I had worked so hard to gain and control. I just stood there, seeing the past, the losses that I had endured over the years, the cancer that had left me with 6 battle scars, my marriage, my daughter, college, jobs, friends and everything in between. The only thing that I had was to go back there, in the place that I felt the safest.
Every time I got scared, I ran back to Egypt. I planted my feet firmly on the ground and overtime I kept my running shoes on and would run back ever time I needed too. I was in control and it had to be that way for me to be happy.
God always saw everything so much differently than I did though, and it took me years of trying to keep my feet on unsteady ground before it all eroded away and my feet fell out from underneath me and I opened my eyes to the realty that I needed God more than I needed the air in my lungs.
Moses was leading the Israelites and he stood before them and said "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."
That is how I got here today. I was an Israelite standing in front of the Red Sea, knowing that God wanted me to just trust him and have faith that he could do it. I stood there over and over again simply seeing a problem and God stood there and simply saw the solution.
God then told Moses in verse 16 to "Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen." Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the the midst of the sea, all Pharaohs horses, chariots, and his horsemen. Then the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to it's normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots, and then horsemen, not one of them remained.
That has always been one of my favorite stories from the Old Testament. A true testament of faith from Moses.
Moses being in complete obedience to God.
Moses never made following God look easy but then again, God never promised that it would be. Troubles come and troubles go but through it all, God will never leave us to fight the battle alone. To the Israelites, their situation seemed hopeless, but through their faith and continuing to move forward, God parted the sea and saved them, just like he did with me on that Saturday night.
Since that night, I have hung up my running shoes. I have no more wants of going back to my safe past and am fighting a battle with satan every single day, but moving forward one step at a time with God's constant hand upon me!
Believe me or not, it goes all the way back to the 2nd book of the bible, Exodus.
The King of Egypt's heart had been hardened and he pursued the Israelites who had run from their life of Exile in Egypt. He had gathered up an army and made chase after them. When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly, And the people of the Lord cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?
The Israelites were standing at a crossroads and the only thing that they saw was the comfort of their slavery surroundings behind them and wanting to go back to their old life of safety rather then trusting and following God. I was there.
I came to the sea and saw the water, the only thing I had was fear.
Fear of the unknown, fear of falling away from the life that I had worked so hard to gain and control. I just stood there, seeing the past, the losses that I had endured over the years, the cancer that had left me with 6 battle scars, my marriage, my daughter, college, jobs, friends and everything in between. The only thing that I had was to go back there, in the place that I felt the safest.
Every time I got scared, I ran back to Egypt. I planted my feet firmly on the ground and overtime I kept my running shoes on and would run back ever time I needed too. I was in control and it had to be that way for me to be happy.
God always saw everything so much differently than I did though, and it took me years of trying to keep my feet on unsteady ground before it all eroded away and my feet fell out from underneath me and I opened my eyes to the realty that I needed God more than I needed the air in my lungs.
Moses was leading the Israelites and he stood before them and said "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."
That is how I got here today. I was an Israelite standing in front of the Red Sea, knowing that God wanted me to just trust him and have faith that he could do it. I stood there over and over again simply seeing a problem and God stood there and simply saw the solution.
God then told Moses in verse 16 to "Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen." Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the the midst of the sea, all Pharaohs horses, chariots, and his horsemen. Then the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to it's normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots, and then horsemen, not one of them remained.
That has always been one of my favorite stories from the Old Testament. A true testament of faith from Moses.
Moses being in complete obedience to God.
Moses never made following God look easy but then again, God never promised that it would be. Troubles come and troubles go but through it all, God will never leave us to fight the battle alone. To the Israelites, their situation seemed hopeless, but through their faith and continuing to move forward, God parted the sea and saved them, just like he did with me on that Saturday night.
Since that night, I have hung up my running shoes. I have no more wants of going back to my safe past and am fighting a battle with satan every single day, but moving forward one step at a time with God's constant hand upon me!
Comments
Post a Comment