“And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.” Isaiah 4:6

Out of the Storm

One of my adult children is messing up his life. He has left the Lord’s path and is walking his own way. He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s in a ferocious storm. Soon enough, he’ll be getting very wet, so to speak. He’ll be sloshing through deep waters, trying to gain his footing, swaying this way and that, and feeling the cold of being outside. He could’ve stayed in the warm embrace of his family, but he ventured out and got caught in a whirlwind.

When I am alone, my emotional state is that I want to jump in and rescue him, pull him out, and knock some sense into him. But when I was recounting the story to a dear friend, the words I used conveyed that I felt I was standing outside of his storm, in a safe and protected area where I would not get wet or thrashed to pieces. I backed off—not because I was unwilling to get involved, but because it wouldn’t be wise.

Should I be ashamed of myself? Why was I standing outside when my own son was whirling around inside? Shouldn’t I rescue him? Shouldn’t I jump in with every fiber of my being to save him from the terrible consequences?

Oh, trust me, if it was in my power to do so, I would be tempted to do it. Thankfully, it is not in my power to save my son from himself. Why do I say “thankfully”? Because only God can do that work in wisdom, “…according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” (Philippians 3:21). I wouldn’t know how, and I wouldn’t have the power, the strength, the understanding, the discernment, the grace, or the mercy that our perfect God has.

It’s best to leave these things in His hands.

What is my part? I will stand in what God has provided: a tabernacle for shade from the heat—a refuge and a shelter from storm and rain. A tabernacle—a “dwelling place”—in Him. To not take the shelter He offers would be like standing in a drenching rain with a closed umbrella at my side, while hearing His voice reminding, “You have an umbrella! Open the umbrella I gave you!”

Tabernacle. Shelter. Refuge. Shade. Bless the Lord.

“Lord, we shelter in You. In times of trouble, may we be found hiding “in You.” You have not called us to take charge of other people’s troubles. Do what You do best to subdue them to Yourself; help us to pray fervently with the help of the Holy Spirit, but stay out of Your way as You work. In Jesus’s Name, Amen.”