A lesson from a storm

Last Easter Sunday was a blessed and peaceful day here.
Later that night? God showed us His power over nature.
We awoke in the wee hours to a loss of power . . . I fumbled around and found my mobile phone so that I could use the automated system to report the outage.
We looked around at the house and the yard with flashlights, but everything seemed OK.
The next morning, what a story was told!
A twister had ripped through the valley where we live, and though we were spared any damage to our home, there were six huge, old-growth trees down on our power lines. In two places, the weight from the trees caused the lines to rest on the ground. We've seen smouldering grass and shrubbery before when lines touch, but these lines must have been dead further up the route, because there was no smoke or sparks to be seen. That was a relief! We were unable to get out our long driveway, but we figured the damage was probably pretty extensive further out.

When the power company linemen arrived to free the lines, they told us stories of homes and businesses demolished, power poles tossed like matchsticks, and massive trees lying across many of the area roadways. They made a few cuts on our large trees - the culprits holding down the lines -- and left when the lines returned to their customary position.
We looked around at the devastation. We looked again. We sat down. What in the world were we to do? This wasn't just a "cut up a branch or two and put it on the woodpile" job.
The first thing we did was pray!
The second thing was to set priorities. It was going to take a step-by-step approach to be successful!

When the storms of life come our way, perhaps that is a good plan for our lives, too. Whether it's a spiritual problem or a physical one, or whether perhaps it's a health or financial issue.....number one: sit down! Number two: pray!

Then tackle it gradually.
Start with one tree. Take the "loppers" and begin trimming off branch tips and leaves (or needles, as the case may be!) and pulling those away and piling them in the bed of the truck. Next, move toward the trunk of the tree along those branches, lopping off lengths until we get to ones that the lopper jaws just won't fit around. Then take the chain saw and begin removing branches, piling them so that the tractor can haul them away. Lastly, we are left with the denuded trunk of the tree. Saw it into firewood lengths and stack for splitting later.
Are ya tired yet? (Grin)

Tackling the storms of life can tire us out, too. But as the old saying goes, we should work as if it all depends on us. And pray and trust like it all depends on God. Because it does. We need to actively engage. We need to work hard and work smart.
But perhaps most importantly, we need to ask God to bless our efforts.

May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;    establish the work of our hands for us—    yes, establish the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:17)

And Solomon agreed with the psalmist . . .

Commit to the Lord whatever you do,    and he will establish your plans. (Proverbs 16:3)

We humans (well, some of us, anyway!) like to set goals. But there must be more than setting goals.

All hard work brings a profit,    but mere talk leads only to poverty. (Proverbs 14:23)

We must be purposeful, intentional, and apply whatever sweat, labor, time, energy, and determination is required. And pray, always pray.
We can ask Him to bless our efforts, and we can ask Him to bless us with His strength:

The Lord gives strength to his people;

    the Lord blesses his people with peace. (Psalm 29:11)You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary;    the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Praise be to God! (Psalm 68:35)

Lord, help me in the storms of life. Help me to remember the lesson of the storm: help me to pray, to ask you to establish the work of my hands and bless my efforts, and to ask you to strengthen me for the tasks!