Till Your Storm is Past
Psalm 57:1
"Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast."
In my lifetime I have almost experienced every type of major tragedy. I have experienced seven tornadoes one night, the great San Francisco earthquake in 1989, typhoons, blizzards, hurricanes and a storm called a derecho. There is nothing enjoyable about going through storms. There have been times in some of these storms that the only thing I could do was pray for God to protect me throughout the storm.
Unfortunately, everyone will experience storms in their life. I am not talking about weather storms, but I am talking about tragedies and hard times. In the verse above, David was going through a storm as he ran for his life from Saul. While in the storm, he said that he would rest "in the shadow of thy wings...until these calamities be overpast." There are times when you have to wait out life's storm, but what you do during the storm will determine whether you come through it better than when you started. There were several things that David did while he waited for the storm to past.
First, he prayed during the storm. The very first words in the verse above are a prayer to God. All too often we run to people during the storms instead of God. The first person you should run to while enduring your storm is God. God is the only One Who can protect you during your storm. Don't run to the psychologist, but run to God. Don't run to your best friend, but run to God. Don't run and have a pity-party, but run to God. He is your shelter while you go through the storm.
Second, David exalted God in the storm. Verse 5 says, "Be thou exalted, O God,..." If you want to get God's attention then you would be wise to exalt Him. It is not time for you to complain about how God does not love you while going through the storm, but it is time to praise Him and talk of His goodness while you endure your storm. You are not going to get God's favor by complaining about Him. You are going to get it by praising Him.
Third, David got fixed on God. Verse 7 says, "My heart is fixed,..." When you are going through your storms you must determine that you are not going to quit. Years ago I determined that I would not quit in the hard times. Yes, you will probably want to quit, but you must get fixed on God and determine that no matter what you go through you are going to keep serving God. If the Devil knows that hard times will cause you to quit, then every time you start serving God he will trouble you. Get fixed and determine not to quit.
Fourth, David sang during the storms. Verse 7 says, "...I will sing and give praise." One of the best ways to keep a good spirit during the storms is to sing. Singing has a way of lifting your spirit. Memorize the hymns that you sing in church and sing them during your storm. Sing lively songs that will help your spirit.
Last, David stayed in his routines during the storm. David said in verse 8, "I myself will awake early." The best way to overcome the storm is to continue doing what you have always done. Don't let your storms change what you do, but keep doing what you have always done. Your routines are your safety-net to keep you doing what you are supposed to do.
Everyone will experience storms in their life. During the storm you will think it will never end. Let me assure you it will end; however, until it ends let these things help make you into a stronger Christian.