Watching a storm form from my perch in the porch swing, clouds rolling together mixing their watercolored bellies up in purples and dark blues. First clap of thunder and my son insists I come inside. I’m sitting in my reading chair now watching with the wind’s mighty breath bend the bamboo to almost breaking point. The water oaks and magnolias are swaying to the beat of the thunderstorm’s symphony. The wind is a mighty blow today and the storm has a glorious fury that’s beautiful to watch from a safe place.

Does God speak to us through storms? I believe he does. I think God’s storms sometimes rush into our lives to make us wake up and realize God is in control. Life’s trials make us rely on God’s strength. God commands our attention, teaching us to turn to him for guidance as we learn to navigate life. He has mapped out our journey to everlasting life and we have to trust him to show us the way. Our path to a fulfilling and meaningful spiritual life is found through prayer and Bible study. We need to pay attention to the Lord through our prayers and our Bible studies.

Psalm 100:3 states, “Know that the Lord is God; it is he who made us, and we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” Nothing is more devoted than a shepherd watching over his flock. We are the sheep of God’s flock. I love the thought of being one of God’s sheep, knowing how lovingly he tends his flock. John 10:27-28 states, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” God is our Heavenly Father and cares for us as a loving father protects his family. How wonderful to be held in God’s safe hands, cradled in holy light.

When Jesus walked the earth sheep were prized possessions. Men were considered wealthy if they owned large flocks. Bible scripture says, “We are His people and the sheep of His pasture,” Psalm 100:3. As members of God’s flock we have to recognize God’s voice and follow his commands, depending on God for strength and guidance. Just as the sheep rely on their shepherd to keep them safe we are dependent on God for comfort and salvation. Psalm 23:1 states, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Sometimes like a lost lamb we stray from our faith, struggling with God’s plan for our lives, not wiling to walk down his path of righteousness. And sometimes we “cast down” like a sheep and need the shepherd, the hands of God, to help us back up. Without a shepherd sheep can’t find food or defend themselves from predators. They cannot survive without their shepherd.

We, too, are dependent on God for everything. Scripture in John 10:11 reads, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” God, our shepherd, cares for us and guides us on our spiritual journey to heaven. When we lose our way God will gently push back on the path. As it says in Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalm 23 describes God as our shepherd who guides us and protects us. Even in the darkest storms of our valleys “God’s goodness and mercy will follow us till we dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

“Christ’s flock is made up of sheep that not only listen to their shepherd, but are also able to recognize his voice, to follow him, faithfully and with full awareness, on the pastures of eternal life.” — Pope John XXIII