Dramatic Swings

Over the past week in Indiana there have been some pretty serious storms coming through the area.  If fact, with last night’s storm and the ground being so saturated, there was a period of time in which my sump pump continuously ran.  I actually went down to observe the sump as I started to become concerned with so much water coming in thinking it might overrun the ability of the pumps to keep up.  Thankfully, all went well and we have a dry basement today.  Having lived in this house for 13 years, that would have been a first.

As I walked the path today, one of the things that stood out to me was how beautiful the skies were even though it was cloudy just a few minutes earlier.   It also hit me how rapidly and dramatically we’ve seen swings in the weather patterns this week.  Yes, I’m use to the Indiana trends of summer storms in the afternoon; however, this week has been really extreme.  For example, yesterday was sunny the majority of the day, major storms rolled in late afternoon, it returned to bright skies, and then we had another round of violent storms later in the evening.  Again, it’s not totally uncommon to see this pattern; however, we truly have seen dramatic swings this week.

As I was reflecting on how dramatic the swings have been from times of violent storms and sunny skies, I was relating it to my personal life.  In particular, today I was relating it to my relationship with God.  You see, without getting into all the details at this point, I would tell you that I’ve experienced my share of dramatic swings from storms to sunny skies in my relationship with God this past week.  Some of these storms have been caused by specific circumstances that haven’t gone the direction I’ve desired; while most of the storms have been in my thought life revisiting these same circumstances and projecting their future impact.  As noted in my blog last week, Waiting, the message I’m clearly hearing from the Lord is “wait upon the Lord”.   Yet, I’ve wrestled with what “wait upon the Lord” truly practically looks like in one’s daily life.

Thankfully, I share this journey with some wonderful Brother’s in Christ and my lovely wife and Sister in Christ, Lisa.  Yesterday, there was a theme that was coming up with Lisa and some of these brothers.  It was a sense of “oppression” and, in some aspects, depression as our group wrestles with what we believe to be a God honoring mission yet seemingly being oppressed.  It might be helpful for me to share a definition of “oppression” that I’m relating: “prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control”.

Relating it to the storms, headed into yesterday’s conference call, I was in a pretty serious storm emotionally.  During the call I felt God’s presence which caused a dramatic swing.  Following the call I received another message to “wait on the Lord” which brought out even more sunny skies in my emotions.  Then, by early evening, the storms began to roll in again.  Yes, within only a few hours, I saw a dramatic swings in my emotions and personal relationship with God.

Now, I should likely insert a bit of an emphasis here.  For those who know me, my personality doesn’t tend to lead toward dramatic emotional swings.  Adding to this, many view me as having an unshakable faith in the Lord.  Words like “steady” and “steadfast” might better describe me than a person who has dramatic swings in emotions.  So, the circumstances I’m referring are rather significant circumstances.

So, here is a question?  Who’s causing these dramatic swings of emotions and the storms I’m experiencing this week?  Well, I can tell you it’s not God; so, that leaves only one other person in the relationship…ME!  Yes, walking the path today reflecting upon these dramatic swings, God reminded me that He’s the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  And, in my case, He’s pretty clearly communicated multiple times within the last week “WAIT!” as it pertains to my specific situation where I’m feeling “oppression”.

So, while I may not be able to control the dramatic swings we’re seeing in Indiana’s weather patterns this week, I can control my own emotional swings.  For now, I’m continuing to “seek His face” and it’s sunny skies ahead as we patiently and expectantly wait the Lord’s leading.