How to Handle Hurricanes, Internal and External
Hugo, Fran, Floyd, Andrew, Katrina (to name just a few) and now Florence. But how about Charley? It was exactly fourteen years, one month, and a day ago, that Hurricane Charley steamrolled its way across the midsection of Florida. The Tampa Bay times captured an evocative photo in the aftermath of the storm. Debris and belongings lay strewn across a grassy expanse. Most of the sky is blotted out by a mass of steel-blue clouds, only a glimmer of clear sky peaks over the horizon with the orange sun obscured behind a cloud. But what really catches the eye is an old family Bible snagged in a tree opened up to an illustration of Jonah plunging into a stormy sea.
You can probably think of a few storms in the Bible besides the one in Jonah: the rains of the flood, multiple whirlwinds in the Old Testament, and of course the storm Jesus calmed. There are storms in Scripture and storms in life, both real and figurative. How should the Christian handle the external hurricanes, the very real disasters that threaten life, limb, and property? How should the Christian handle the internal hurricanes of crisis, pain, and uncertainty? Psalm 107 includes four short stories about different people facing different problems and one of these is about a storm. We can apply this portion of God’s Word and find four lessons on handling hurricanes, internal and external.
Lesson 1: Recognize the extraordinary power of God (Ps 107:23-25).
Weathering a hurricane is the closet many of us might come to clinging aboard a tiny vessel sailing the stormy sea. The wind is howling. The water is spraying everywhere. The ups and downs from the tossing waves go on and on. It might not seem like the most idyllic environment for meditating on the power of God. But what an experience to see, feel, hear, taste, and smell the power of the all-powerful God who designed this world and oversees its seven seas and sovereignly controls them. He commands the stormy winds and lifts the waves from their moorings. Even a hurricane proclaims His extraordinary power (see Ps 135:5-7 if you have any doubts).
Lesson 2: Realize that God’s extraordinary power can be downright terrifying (Ps 107:26-27).
It’s tough to be courageous when the storm is raging. (Why do you think pirates started saying, “Shiver me timbers”?) The poor sailors of this passage climb crest after crest only to plunge down into trough after trough. The skillful sailors are reduced to no staggering drunkards who drank all the rum (okay, no more pirate analogies). Disaster has a way of reducing the strongest and bravest to a bowl of soggy oatmeal. Calamity can melt the soul. This is where Spurgeon brings up in his Treasury of David what he calls “internal hurricanes.” It’s in these moments of terror we tend to lose heart, all courage, and hope. This is when you feel like you’re just being tossed around in the upheavals of life from one problem to another. What’s the solution? Where is hope to be found?
Lesson 3: Pray to the God who delivers from trouble (Ps 107:28-30).
This is the solution and the response God wants from us amidst the hurricanes we face. This is what God wants us to do when we’re in trouble. Cry to the Lord, pray to Him, look to Him for help. He’s the One that can deliver you. And he delivers these sailors in the storm by stilling the roiling boiling seas. He hushes the howling winds to a soothing whisper. The clouds part, the sun is shining, and you can even see a rainbow. It’s more than enough to make the heart glad, just as it does for these sailors. Happiness has replaced their fear. The same God that allows the storms is the same God that calms the storms. There’s no promise that life will be a bed of chocolates. Eternal life—yes; this earthly life—not necessarily. What God does promise is the “peace which passeth all understanding” and His sufficient grace, and His strength to “press toward the mark” (Phil 4:7; 2 Cor 12:9; Phil 3:14).
Lesson 4: Praise God for His unfailing goodness (Ps 107:31-32).
Do you see how God is glorified in all of this? He’s demonstrated His authority over creation (He controls it). He’s demonstrated His authority over men (we need Him). He’s the only One who can help us and He’s the best one to help us. He’s good! Everything He does is worthy of wonder and awe and He deserves all the praise for it. So praise God amidst every storm. Every struggle and difficulty in life we encounter should bring us closer to God as we respond biblically. This seems to be what Augustus M. Toplady had in mind when he wrote the words to an old hymn, “If, On a Quiet Sea.” The second stanza says:
But should the surge rise, and rest delay to come,
Blest be the tempest, kind the storm,
Which drives us near home,
Blest be the tempest, kind the storm,
Which drives us nearer home.
God’s lovingkindness is unfailing and present in every difficult situation the Christian encounters. It’s because of this truth that we have good reason to be unflappable—calm amidst every hurricane. Shouldn’t that be our outlook when we’re trusting in the God of unfailing goodness?
Note: To see the photo from the Tampa Bay Times described in the introduction go to https://www.tampabay.com/news/weather/photos-10-years-ago-hurricane-charley-slammed-into-punta-gorda/2192438
Brent Niedergall is youth pastor at Catawba Springs Christian Church near Raleigh, North Carolina. He holds an MDiv from Shepherds Theological Seminary and is pursuing a DMin from Maranatha Baptist Seminary.
Check out our Resources page for recommended books and other materials helpful for your ministry.