“I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and the storm.” (Psalm 54:8 NIV)
An early morning meeting in town sent me out the door before dawn today. It took some effort to leave our house in full-on downpour; the kind that makes me nervous about roads and washouts. Turns out, the phrase: ‘Lord-willing the creek won’t rise’ is a real deal down here in the sticks of South Texas. As I made my way down our lane, I noticed our neighbor’s cows. Meatball, Meska and Wooly Bully are more like big pets than large livestock, they are well-cared for by their owner. But this morning it was raining to beat the band and those three cows were huddled under the biggest live oak they could locate on their seven acres of pasture.
I looked at those cows, standing under the tree, thick as thieves in the pouring rain and I thought about God.
When storms come, we fare best when we climb as close to Him as we can get. These cows were practically rubbing against the bark of this old tree. The Live Oak provided some protection from the driving rain, but also, protection from the lightning, and maybe a little sound insulation from the thunder.
I also noted that all three cows stood together. There are lots of live oaks on that seven acres. There’s far more than a tree to spare for each cow. But instead, they huddled together, convinced of their safety in numbers, perhaps a little comfort also. I thought about the church and how we all fare better when we pull close to God together.
When storms come, we have the same choice as these cows. We can go it on our own; we can stand out in the pasture soaking through and risking our very survival. Or we can come close to God in the context of community and ride out the storm together.
So often storms come and people leave: the Church or the faith altogether. They head out into the open field on their own with little or no protection from the weather. This is madness when God has given Himself as shelter and provided family for fellowship, encouragement and accountability.
“But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all Your deeds.” (Psalm 73:28 NIV)
Lord, may we learn from the cows in the rain today. You are our shelter and shelter is even better when we stick together. Give us the common sense to pull close when the weather threatens. We are grateful for Your covering and Your family. Amen.