The Hardest Day in Life

I have experienced two earthquakes. While not of great magnitude, both impressed upon me how major earthquakes could be terrifying. The idea that the earth, the very thing we have come to think of as the essence of stability and firmness, shakes, opens up and rumbles, is an unsettling experience. At that moment, life as we know it has been disrupted and nothing seems safe anymore.
 
Sometimes the words spoken to us are like earthquakes; they introduce an unsettling instability into lives that were once calm and unshakeable. “You’re fired.” “I don’t love you anymore.” “There’s been an accident.” “There’s nothing else we can do.” “I have bad news.” “You’re being evicted.” “You have cancer.” Like an earthquake, such words create seismic shifts in our reality and transform a bright, joyful day into the hardest day of our lives. In those terrifying moments, words of comfort and encouragement can seem empty and void.
 
Today’s passage brings to mind an earthquake like, cataclysmic experience—the earth removed, mountains crash into the sea, troubled waters. In the midst of all that turmoil and confusion, the psalmist reminds us the source of strength, peace and refuge is not some government agency or charitable organization, not even the encouragement of family or the kindness of strangers. The source of our strength and hope is the love, power and grace of The Almighty, who shelters, protects, heals, and delivers us in the time of calamity. In fearful times, the psalmist tells us to have no fear. Instead, seek shelter in God.
 
Disaster preparedness experts tell us to be ready in advance of the calamity, to stock up and have a plan. Survival is dependent on taking refuge in a safe place. When disaster strikes and life becomes unsettled, we need a place to hide, a place of refuge, peace and calm in the midst of the storm. When we face the hardest day in life, remember the solution: “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.”