“Words of encouragement from the book of Psalms”

29 Aug “Words of encouragement from the book of Psalms”

The past couple of days has been surreal. Most of you know, Texas has been hit with a catastrophic and historic flooding event from the storm system Hurricane Harvey. In this post, I wanted to share words of encouragement from the book of Psalms for anyone living in Texas that have been affected by Hurricane Harvey.

It has been incredible to see the efforts of first responders. But even more incredible is seeing the good samaritans of this city showing kindness. Just the level of humanity from complete strangers risking their lives and giving their time and resources likes boats to go and rescue people from their flooded homes. It is amazing to watch. In dire and grim times we can easily feel helpless, anxious, and despair due to the devastation surrounding us. What has helped me stay calm and ride this out is putting my faith in God.

Despite being unable to attend church service this past Sunday due to the inclement weather, our church came together and gave the word on Facebook live and the scripture that we reviewed was Psalm 46. It definitely provided encouragement and peace when I was feeling very anxious and scared at the time of the unknown. Here are some of the passages that really helped me find relief:

Verse 1: God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Verse 7: The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

It is a great reminder that when we are at our lowest points in life or scared the first person we must go to is God, because he is our refuge and he is our protector. Nobody else. My situation is nothing like the people who have lost their homes, have no power, or are currently in shelters. But during the storm on Sunday our entire street was flooded and the water was slowly rising making its way all the way up to the garage during the day.

I was awoken in the middle of the night by the pounding of rain slamming against our roof. It was coming down quickly and as I looked outside my window, I could see the water making its way to the house. My husband quickly made barricades to the front of the house, the garage, and the back door. I have never experienced flooding or been through a hurricane. I was really scared and at that point, I just went on my knees and cried out to God in prayer. I prayed for my whole entire neighborhood to be spared of the flooding, prayed for my fellow brothers and sisters in the church for their safety, the volunteers and rescuers and all the areas that were impacted by the storm.

I asked God to help me have peace and I read Psalm 46 over and over. Suddenly not even 2 minutes later the rain stopped and it was silent and I was overcome by a feeling of peace. The next morning when I woke up the water had completely receded. Again my situation and experience is nothing compared to other people, but it was a scary moment. If you are reading this and feeling despair or hopelessness, know that God is always with you and he is always listening. He is here to protect us. The Bible and the act of prayer are powerful. When you are in desperation turn to God. Isaiah 26:3-4:

You will keep in perfect peace those whose mind is steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself is the Rock eternal.

It does not look good at this moment, but this too shall pass and you will be stronger coming out of this. Stay strong!

-Janel