When We Wonder if God is Still There

We woke in the middle of the night to her screams. The thunder boomed, the lightning flashed wildly, and the rain pounded against the windows. Seconds after snuggling her safely between us in the bed, her older brother ran screaming into our room and dove beneath the blankets at my feet.

Minutes later the hydro went off, plunging the house into complete darkness. My husband got out of bed to find a flashlight and paused at the window in the hall to peer out into the wild storm. I slipped quietly out of bed and joined him at the window.

In the dark of night when the wind howls and the rain comes in sheets, it's easy to imagine all sorts of terrible things.

"Are you worried about a tornado?" I whisper.

"The thought crossed my mind," he whispers back.

Suddenly the two little ones realized we are both gone from the bed and they started crying again. I slipped back beneath the blankets and snuggled them close. Their sobs subsided.

In the silence she whispered, "Mama, are you still there?"

"I'm here."

Then again, only minutes later, her tiny voice quivered as she repeated the question, "Mama, are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm here." I hold her hand in the dark. She felt safe in my presence.

When the storms rage in our lives, the same question often surfaces: "Father, are you still there?" It's easy to doubt the presence of God when difficulty comes and fear grips our hearts.

But again and again in Scripture we read, "Do not fear. I am with you." The truth is God will never leave us or forsake us.

The storm gradually stilled and the our little ones eventually felt safe enough to curl up in their own beds.

Desperate circumstances are not an indicator of His absence. In fact, they are a sure sign that He is so very near, holding us close in the storm.

Are you in the middle of a storm? Reach out to the One who is ever-present and ask Him to hold you through it.