Hurricane Harbor

Have you ever wondered where a cargo ship goes when a hurricane approaches it? I read an article where they interviewed a cargo ship captain and they asked him. He said they don’t always head for the nearest port because different ports offer different levels of protection. If he had the choice and the ability, he would look for a port known as a hurricane hole. They have good holding areas where the waves rocking the boat wont damage the ship. They also have high cliffs or mountains around the port that can protect the ship from high winds. Once the storm passes they can then get the ship and it’s cargo back on course. It got me to thinking how we respond to storms in our lives. Where do we port when circumstances threaten everything we hold dear.

In Acts 16, Paul had a vision from God where a person from Macedonia called out to him to come there. He and Silas boarded a ship for there at once and began preaching the Gospel. A young slave girl,who was possessed, followed them and mocked them until Paul cast out the spirit from her. The masters of the girl realized they lost their income and turned the town against Paul and Silas. They were beaten up, whipped and thrown into a dungeon of a cell. They could have complained to God because they were following His will when it happened. They could have sought sympathy from local believers because of their treatment. They could have found any number of these harbors to hide in, but instead they decided to sing praises to God in their pain in the darkest hour. They knew the Lord was their hurricane harbor.

Psalm 32:7 says, “For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory” (NLT). Where do you go when your problems overtake you? Do you look for sympathy from friends? Do you complain about how hard things are? Instead of crying out to others in your pain, try praising the one who can hide you in the storm. In turn He will surround you with songs of victory and deliverance. You will still have to ride out the storm, but His walls of protection will hold you together. Your hope in Him will be the anchor your life needs when everything is trying to pull you away from Him. When we learn to praise in the pain and in the dark, God will deliver us. We may lose some cargo He needs us to offload. We may be sent in a different direction afterwards, but when the winds are strongest, our faith in Him will hold true as we hide ourselves in Him.

Photo by Domino Studio on Unsplash