My place of retreat had been attacked. My memories didn’t match this sight: broken branches, dirty debris, rogue rocks and mud everywhere. Record-breaking rains had flooded my favorite trail.
After the water receded, I braved the large puddles and set off into the unrecognizable woods.
Beneath the canopy of flourishing green, the plants and paths were caked in gray-brown mud-dust from sod and silt.
The storms’ destruction was evident and disheartening; the sight sunk my spirits with each step.
Until I came upon the simply daisies in the photo above. The storm bent them down to the ground. But the blossoms refused to bury face-down in the silt.
Although bent, they didn’t break.
Although bent, they turned up toward the sun.
Although bent, they bloomed.
I bet most of us have experienced the pummeling rain and fast-rising flood waters of life’s storms, threatening to drown our very souls.
Maybe, you’re there right now.
King David knew the feeling. In Psalm 69, he pleads with God for rescue from the flood.
In verses 30-36 we see the psalmist blooming in the midst of trial. The waters rose, the mud captured, but the psalmist didn’t wallow in despair. He chose to seek the Lord. He chose to praise God.
It’s easier to praise God when we recall God doesn’t author storms, yet chooses which He allows. (Job 1:9-12)
It’s easier to praise God when we recall that He will bring good from even this and that He has a plan and purpose for the storm.
By praising God we are reminded that the storms and floods we experience are terrible, terrifying, and yet, also temporary.
We might bend, but we can refuse to break.
We might bend, but we can choose to turn toward the Son.
We might bend, but we also can choose to bloom.
He knows the plans for He has for us, exactly how He will use these floods for good.
By praising Him we take our eyes off the floods and fears, trusting God to not only rescue us but to somehow, some way, use it for good.
Personal good. Corporate good. Godly good.
The evidence of the flood doesn’t need to disappear before we can bloom. We don’t need to be able to stand up straight and tall to be able to praise God. Bent and battered, we can choose to lift our faces toward the Son, and bloom as the waters recede.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, Storms are distressing, discouraging, and downright difficult. Yet You know why you allow them. You know the good You plan to bring from them. Please help me to only bend and not break. Remind me to turn to You, that through Christ, I can do anything. Help me to trust You, that You will indeed bring good from this storm, somehow, some way. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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