Women’s Connect August Devotional
Dear sister,
Enjoy this devotional, written by Anna Lubow. May you be blessed and encouraged! Thank you, Anna, for sharing this wonderful word with us!
Share a devo about nature? “Yeah, I can probably do that.” I love being outside in creation, exploring what God has made, being amazed by His creativity, and being awed by the beauty that reflects His glory.
I was standing in the middle of one of the most beautiful places I will probably ever get to visit, Glacier National Park, Montana. “I’m sure something about this adventure will be inspiring!”
Photo by Anna Lubow
Me, my husband, and our six kids were in the middle of our road trip adventure – a tent camping road trip. We were at the visitors center trying to find something to do that day because it was raining, it had rained all night with no sign of it stopping, and it was only 37 degrees(it continued to rain all day and all the next night without getting above 40). I was miserable and really disappointed. A whole day at Glacier basically wasted just trying to stay warm and dry, not getting to do or see any of the things I had planned or hoped to do. While my kids were in the gift shop buying the “must have stuffed animal that is apparently so much better at a National Park gift shop because it’s more expensive,” I got back in our van and in a moment of quiet a line from a Casting Crowns song just popped in my head.
“I will praise you in this storm.”
Well that really fits here, not just in this frustrating vacation moment where things aren’t going as I wanted, but as a bigger picture of some of the struggles in my life this last year or two, unknowns, doubts, anxiety, things not going the way I expected…..
What a good reminder God, I want to praise you in the storm, not just run to you when things are hard, which is easier to do. Then the reverse of that came to mind: Do I draw near to Him when the sun is out and things look amazing? When things are going great and the way I want or expect, do I just let my relationship with him cruise? Or do I still pursue it?
Photo by Anna Lubow
We did eventually see the sun and the tops of the mountains and enjoy the beauty of the park. As we kayaked the beautiful turquoise lake that reflected the snow capped mountains surrounding us, this reminder and conviction stayed with me as another line from the same Casting Crowns song came to mind.
“I will lift my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” What an amazing reason to praise him in the storm!
This line is from Psalm 121 and the whole of it says,
“I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” (ESV)
Photo by Anna Lubow
The God of the universe, who made all of creation, is my help! He made me, he loves me, he knows me. He made YOU, he loves YOU, he knows YOU! He doesn’t just know us, he has also made himself known, through creation, through his Word, and he desires for me and you to know him too.
So, will I praise him in the storm? He is my help.
Will I run to him in the good, not just the bad? He desires I know him.
When we got home, I looked up the lyrics to “Praise You In This Storm” to see if I had them right, and another line caught my eye: “You are who You are; No matter where I am.”
God is who He is; No matter where I am. No matter where I am physically, mentally, emotionally. Whether I’m in the stormy valley of hard times or on the mountaintop with the sun shining. He is unchanging no matter how much I or my circumstances change. Unchanging help I can hold onto in the storm! Why would I not praise him?
Being back from an amazing adventure in God’s creation, back to real life, back to uncertainties about the future: I needed and continue to need these reminders. I pray they are also encouraging to you.
~Anna Lubow