The storm rolled in quicker than most and made sure to display its power. As the sirens sounded and threatened us into a mild panic, we took cover in the bathroom and waited with uncertainty about what was to come. It was the first time that we had to take cover from the power of a storm at the behest of the sirens and although we all worried a little, our faces showed nothing but confidence in the build quality of our home.

It is amazing how safe one can feel hiding out in a bathroom from severe weather. Unavoidably, I have done some thinking about the storm over the days since and have been both comforted and (to be quite honest) concerned about my thoughts. I have been thinking that if God had decided that that storm was the way He was going to take the lives of my family and I, that there would be no bathroom or shelter that could keep us safe from the storm.

It wouldn’t matter how thick the concrete walls of our shelter, the storm would get us, and we would die. That’s all there is to it. If God has decided that today is the day that I will die, there is no getting around it. There is no shelter that can save us from the will of God. So that’s the thought the has filled me with a healthy bit of concern. I wouldn’t say that I’m worried that God will send a storm to kill me, but that I have a healthy and holy understanding that I am, ultimately, not in control of my life. No matter what I do or how hard I work, I can not thwart the power and will of God.

But, accepting that thought (as I have for years, but am constantly reminded of) also fills me with a confidence that far out paces the security of concrete. If nothing I do can save me from His will, and the weather and all things obey Him, then I can be assured that I will not die until He wants me to. In other words, because God is sovereign over everything, I can not die until He wants me to. No one or no thing can kill me outside the will of God. So as I am living, God wants me alive and when my time is up, there is nothing than can be done to keep me from our heavenly encounter.

So the next time I am startled awake to the sounds of a screeching siren and severe weather at 4am, I can be confident that no matter if safety wins out (as it did this time) or calamity, I am eternally safe in the hands of my creator and sustainer. No matter if death comes from storms or disease or age I am safe with Jesus. And when my savior calls me home all of the fears and false securities of this life will die with my body and not follow me into paradise.