Praise Him in the storms

It is rainy season; yes we only have two seasons here rainy and dry! The rains started early about three weeks ago and they literally started with a bang of accompanying thunder and lightning. And, almost every day for the last three weeks another storm has rolled in. This morning as I was reading in Scripture about praising God in the storm I was surrounded by thunder, lightning and pouring rain (praise God my new roof is doing great). I was reminded of God’s promises and the hope we have that allows us to praise Him in the storms of life.

Things are hard for my Gambian friends right now, inflation is hitting, expensive holidays are rapidly approaching, the rains came so early that many had not completed construction on their homes or much needed repairs after the tornado that ripped through here last July and no one had their farm ready to plant when the rains came over 6 weeks early. In addition, many of my Gambian friends are frightened. Imagine living in a house with just a few wooden rafters and a corrugate tin roof constructed of mud block in the midst of a tornado! The memory of that tornado a year ago is fresh in their minds and each night that a storm comes through there is little sleep to be had and many are sheltering together to ride out the storms in as much safety as they can find.

However, in our hardship, our fear, our storms we can praise God. There is great power in watching a follower of Jesus praise Him in their storms. Yesterday, I sat with a believer whose house fell down around her in the tornado (see the picture of the rebuilding effort), whose current rental house has large holes in the ceiling that dump water on her bed in the storms, who does not have money to feed herself and the grandchildren that she took in because their mother died and father abandoned them, who was given the precious gift of two goats to feed her family and they died of an illness, and her body is getting tired from all the physical labor and she has no one to help. As we sat together and she shared her storms she shared that her only hope is in God alone through Jesus. Oh, what a beautiful testimony she has in her storms and so do many of us. May He use all of our storms to point to His light and may we not forget for those who know Jesus there is an end to the storm, the promise of heaven where we will be forever with our Lord and savior in perfect peace.

(I want to let everyone know that I will be heading off soon for a few weeks of vacation and lots of rest and time for prayer and praise. Look for more updates on how the Lord is working in The Gambia in August)