“I will … transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope.” – God in Hosea 2 vs 15
Hurricane Mathew! The most powerful storm to hit the Atlantic in over a decade! From the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, Mathew was churning winds of 160 mph at its core. It was a storm at the tail end of the hurricane scale; it was a category 5 storm! Much more frightening is the level of catastrophe Mathew wrought in the wake of cities, walls and structures that dare stand in his way. The West Atlantic territories are reeling in the pains of destructions Mathew left behind. Wide panic sparked across the southern American city of Florida as forecasters scramble to predict where Mathew will hit next!
Past the fancy names and mysterious calm in its eye, there is certainly nothing to look forward to in a hurricane!
Mathew was Fort Lauderdale’s (a town in Florida) own hurricane! Just like Katrina was New Orleans’. It has churned and brewed massive winds West Atlantic for weeks simply to dance on the coastline of Florida. Forecasters knew it. And for Mathew, all paths lead to Florida. However, days to Florida, the storm turned a bit. Mathew missed Fort Lauderdale-the little town it was born for!
I hope that your own hurricane misses you too, but if not, prepare to dance in it! Dance in it because your anchor will hold! Dance in it because you will never dance alone! Dance in it because God will dance with you in it! Dance in it because it isn’t the weatherman who sent this hurricane your way. Dance in it because it isn’t a man who named this hurricane after you- God did.
The one who named your hurricane ‘You’ is the great symphonist orchestrating its menacing and quite erratic flow! There is a rhythm in the hurricane. There is a method to its raging madness. The howling of its winds like the blowing of a trumpet. The sounds of each raindrop hitting the ground as the sound of fingers running through keys and notes on a guitar. The clap of thunders like the sound of cymbal and bass of drums.
To dance in the hurricane is to dance to the music of your storm. It is to trust the one who orchestrates its instruments and flow. To trust, no matter how the storm touches you. Be it a gentle rocking of your boat or the violent battering of your sanctuary. It is to face your fears in your darkest night! Like a kite in the hurricane; it is dance to its winds, with no fear, to let your storm take you beyond its raging winds to the very eyes of life.
To embrace the storm is to embrace life! To dance in its winds is to trust the one who named your hurricane ‘You’! To let God show you how doors of trouble open to the valley of hope. How the surging storms have eyes as calm as the calm before the storms.
