Focus In The Midst Of A Storm

By Rachel Schroeder,

Psalm 18:1-7 | “1 I love you, O Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

In August 2023, a team of Mighty Oaks  Women’s Program leaders came together at California’s SkyRose Ranch to share with a group of women, from all over the US, what God has done in their lives and the hope that is only found in Jesus. Attending a weeklong session for both leaders and students is not always easy, especially when we see the enemy beginning to attack weeks, if not months, before a session is to start. This can leave leaders with feelings of being empty and they will often have doubts of being able to help others.

Participants may come with hesitance, fear of the unknown, and questioning if the program is even worth their time. Not to mention, they may struggle with doubts as to whether they will even have the energy needed to get through the week because many are carrying not only their pain, trauma, and lack of self-worth, but may also be carrying the trauma of someone else, like a spouse.

Focus is what we must pray for. To focus on what the Holy Spirit has us as leaders pour into someone that comes so broken and without hope. We must pray for participants and for focus that is needed to trust, engage, and to completely open up to complete strangers about their deepest fears and chaos that can come from years of trauma.

“3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so I shall be saved from my enemies. 4 The chords of death encompassed me; the torrents of perdition assailed me; 5 The cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.”

Coming together with chaos can make someone feel as if they are in a middle of a storm without shelter to protect them from the distractions, destruction, and devastation they see all around them. Without the hope of forgiveness and reconciliation, they can be left feeling as if they have lost everything and are stuck out in the middle of a storm and all alone.

“6 In my distress. I call upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From His temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.”

We read in Psalm 18 of a very active God in heaven and about a man who is eager and who is wanting complete healing to carry out God’s will and the work God has for his life. We are reminded that God is our rock, our fortress, and our deliverer and the one we can depend on.  We are reminded that when we call on Him in our despair, He will hear us and listen to our cries. His word reminds us that He is active and comes to our rescue. The description in Scripture is like an emergency vehicle with lights and sirens rushing into a chaotic scene to help whoever has cried out for help.

“7 then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry.”

Here we are given a depiction of the supernatural help and deliverance God brings to us. We may not see it when we are in the chaos, but God’s deliverance can always be seen clearly once the storm has passed. Sometimes we need the struggle-that storm, that chaos, to be able to see God and grow in our faith as we continue to walk forward with him. We must take our focus off the chaos we are in and place It on God, who is our one and only refuge. We were able to see so much joy on the faces of the women as they prepared to go back home to face those storms with faith and a new perspective knowing that… GOD IS VICTORIOUS!!!