Eye of the Storm

I've always wondered what it would be like to be in the eye of a hurricane. I wouldn't want to go through the hurricane to find out, but I wonder nonetheless. I mean, one minute the rain is pouring and the winds is battering everything beyond recognition, and then it's suddenly calm and clear. We've been through our own share of violent storms in Southern Manitoba (certainly not hurricanes, but sometimes hurricane-force) and the suddenness with which they started and ended had to be something like going into and out of the eye of a hurricane.

The eye of a hurricane is a region 20-50 km in diameter found at the center where skies are often clear, winds are light, and the storm's lowest pressure readings are obtained. While the storm rages around it, the conditions within the eye are downright pleasant... except for the knowledge that the other half of the hurricane will hit even harder than the first half did. But for those brief moments, everyone gets a chance to take a deep breath and brace for what is still to come.

Now, as we go through life we often experience our own storms... you know, those times when everything is really busy, things are starting to fall apart, and you don't know how you're going to make it through in one piece. These storms can be as destructive to our minds and souls as hurricanes are to the buildings they hit. But just like hurricanes, these storms have a center too.

You see, nothing happens in this world without God seeing it. At the very least, everything happens according to God's good, pleasing, and perfect will. This means, at the center of every storm, there is God. God is the eye... and whenever He's around, conditions can be downright pleasant.

As long as we keep our hearts centered in God's will, the storms that rage in us and around us will not dampen our peace and joy because we know that as far as our eternal fate is concerned, God is perfectly in control. As soon as we decide that we can make it out of the storm ourselves, we take our hearts out of the eye and into the wind and rain. Often in these circumstances, our pride won't let us return until our minds and souls are battered beyond recognition. But as soon as we focus our hearts on God, he restores us and keeps us safe from the forces that seek to destroy us.

So don't worry about the storms that rage around you. Keep yourself centered on God and His will for you, and the winds cannot touch your heart. The circumstances won't change, but whatever comes, you'll be able to rest in the peace and joy that only God can give.