Safe in the Storm

When I was a kid, I attended Southern California Military Academy in Long Beach. We would have mandatory chapel every Sunday. Not being raised in a Christian home, I can recall it was the only time, for the most part, that I was ever in a church service. I remember one of the songs we sang in chapel was "You’ll Never Walk Alone."

At the time, I was experiencing a storm of my own because of the way my mom lived as an alcoholic. I remember singing, "When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high, and don’t be afraid of the dark. At the end of the storm is a golden sky and the sweet silver song of the lark. Walk on through the wind. Walk on through the rain."

The problem was there was no mention of God in those lyrics. As we sang, "Walk on, with hope in your heart, and you’ll never walk alone," I thought, Who is with me? The lark that we’re singing about? Who is here?

As Christians, we do walk through storms in life. But we can hold our heads up high—not because of some bird singing but because the Lord is with us. He was with me as a little boy, though I hadn’t yet put my faith in Him completely. God was there as I cried out to Him.

We’re safer with Him in a storm than anywhere else without Him. I would rather be with Jesus in a storm than in the plushest, most luxurious place on earth without Him. The Bible tells us that "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1).

Sometimes God will calm or even stop the storms, but He is always with us through them.