Secure in our Father’s Arms

CW and I were on a disaster relief callout this year to clean up after tornado damage. It was a sizzling week with temps that reached into the 90s and humidity that made it feel ten degrees hotter. The team was grateful for any shade we had to work in, which was considerably less after the large number of recently downed trees. We managed to get through the week with lots of liquids and timely breaks.

One of our jobs was at the home of a policeman. During the two weeks since the storm, he had cut up the large trees that had come down in his front and back yards. However, a partially standing tree in a wooded area to the side still needed attention. The top, broken off about 5’ from the ground but still attached, had fallen among the other trees. Our team cut it off, sawed it up, and moved all the debris to the edge of the road.

When we finished, we gathered around the young man as he stood on his porch. He held his little girl, just over a year old, in his arms and shared his experience from the day of the storm.

He was at home that afternoon when his wife called from work to warn him of the tornado. He quickly gathered food and other supplies for his daughter and they took cover in the bathroom. The house trembled as he sat on the floor holding her. He listened to the destruction swirling outside. He prayed. At one point, he thought of the heavy oak doors in his house and got up to open the bathroom door to lessen the chance of being trapped inside. He said his daughter’s attention remained fixed on him and she was quiet and peaceful while they waited out the storm.

After about 20 minutes, he ventured out to discover his house sandwiched between two huge trees. One lay at the foot of his front porch. The other lay across the backyard, dangerously close to the house.

His wife wanted to come home, but the roads were unnavigable for blocks. He told her to drive to a particular road to meet them. He stuffed a few clothes for all of them into two grocery bags and attached them to the diaper bag he had filled with baby food. Then, carrying his daughter in his arms, he started off through the woods behind his house. It was tough going as he had to maneuver over and around freshly fallen trees. Crossing a gully, he lost his footing and went down hard, sitting with a thud but still holding his daughter securely. Fifteen minutes later, he reached the road where his family was reunited.

As we all listened to his story, my eyes were riveted on him and his daughter. Even with all the strangers gathered around, she was quiet and content. Just like during those minutes the storm raged outside, I thought.

I asked the father if she was calm only while they were huddled down in the bathroom that day, or if she remained peaceful throughout their hurried departure from the house and obstacle-laden hike as well. He said she was calm the entire time, even when they unexpectedly sat down in the gully.

This is a beautiful picture of something God wants all of his followers to realize. Just as this little child felt safe and content in her daddy’s arms during and after the storm, we can experience that same unwavering security in our heavenly Father’s arms no matter what life brings.

Our storms may be tornadoes, fires, earthquakes, floods. They may be losses of family members or friends. The storms may be financial problems, a health crisis, or the heartaches of living in an increasingly anti-God culture. Jesus told us that “in this world you will have trouble.” But he also said, “in me you may have peace” (John 16:33).

The storm may not always pass over you, leaving its wreckage outside your door. A tree may land on your house, literally or figuratively. But even in the worst situations, we can still make it through without fear because “¹God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. ²Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, ³though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging” (Psalm 46:1-3).

Regardless of how tragic the storm, Jesus is our refuge. He’s the one we can take shelter in, the one in whom we can place our trust. Not trust that we will always escape hurt or loss. Rather, trust that our sovereign God is in total control and is taking perfect care of us. That trust will lead to unshakable confidence in him and, therefore, allow us to experience undisturbed tranquility when the storms of life inevitably come. “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3).

As Moses said in his blessing over the tribe of Asher, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27). God is holding us. We are safe. When we understand this truth, we will be like this precious child in her daddy’s arms. We will fix our eyes on our heavenly Father and place our complete trust in him, thus allowing us to rest peacefully in his arms through every conceivable trouble.

Scripture quotations are from NIV.

Feature photo by Lubomirkin on Unsplash