In The Middle of an Ice Storm

 

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orth Carolina is not particularly known for its winter weather.  Now don’t get me wrong, the state does have cold weather, sometimes too cold, but on the whole, we don’t spend our winters socked in under five feet of snow and the temperature doesn’t hover zero between the months of November and March.  But on occasion, we do have big snows and the ever-threatening ice storms. 

 

In the late 80’s we had such a storm.  The forecasters had predicted only a “light dusting” of snow which sent all the local people to the grocery store to hoard supplies of milk, eggs, and bread.  In just a few hours’ time the store’s shelves were empty and everyone hunkered down in their homes, waiting for the all-out assault. 

 

In the morning, we were not disappointed.  The forecasters completely missed the mark. There was snow on the ground but there was also ice—lots of it!  Trees were broken, limbs littered people’s yards, and power lines were down everywhere.  There was no electricity, and everything was eerily quiet.  We couldn’t cook, we couldn’t turn on the lights, and we couldn’t run the heater because we had no electricity.  We all hopped out of bed and put on as many clothes as possible to ward off the cold. That’s when my mom made a brilliant discovery. 

 

Not too many months before, my mom and dad had remolded their home, adding a few rooms and changing over from electric to natural gas for heating the home and creating hot water.  In their den, they had installed a gas space heater which could heat the room in very little time and keep it warm and toasty. This heater required no electricity and easily warmed the den.  Mom lit the burners and before long, at least one room in our house was warm.  We could also cook and take hot showers because all of those appliances were gas as well.  

 

There is a great truth illustrated in the book of 2 Samuel that goes hand in hand with our story about that gas space heater in the middle of an ice storm.  David had become king of Israel and had selected Jerusalem to be his capital.  What is said about him in this passage directly applies to us today.  2 Samuel 5:10 says, “And he became more and more powerful, because the LORD God Almighty was with him.” 

 

The last seven words of this passage provide our lesson today.  Please notice the passage says that God was with David.  What does it mean for God to be with us?  How should that affect our lives and change the way we view the world?  It should make all the difference in the world!  Far too often we keep God at a distance, calling on Him when we need something, going to Him when we can fit Him into our schedule.  We simply think that opening our Bibles for 15 minutes and praying a quick prayer means that we have spent time with God.  

 

The scripture, however, says that God was with David, not that David was with God!  What a difference this makes.  When God is with us, He is the main focus of our lives.  When He is with us, everything else pales in comparison to Him.  When He is with us, we grow stronger.  When He is with us, the ice storms of life do not matter because we always have a constant supply of His love and His grace working in our lives.  

 

On that winter’s morning, snow and ice covered the ground outside.  Just on the other side of our door the elements were very uninviting and dangerous.  However, in the house we had heat, we had food, we had warmth, and we had security.  This is what it means to have God with us.  The elements outside may be harsh, uninviting, and dangerous, but inside we have the fire of the living God in our hearts reassuring us that we can and will be victorious in the ice storms of life.  Is the fire burning in your heart today?