I woke up with a startle. Some dreams seem more real than others. This was one of those.
Just moments before I awoke, I was standing on the far end of the deck behind our house. As I stood there, a swift wind kicked up, blowing strongly around me. As it grew intensity, I clenched my hand shut, grasping the paper I held. The fiercer the wind, the tighter my grip. When the wind died down, I uncurled my fingers revealing a now crumpled piece of paper. Carefully I unfolded it, my eyes focusing to read what it said. “El Elyon.” That was it.
Almost as soon as I read it, I woke up. Reaching for my phone, I capture what I had read. I knew I’d forget it if I waited.
When I fully woke up, I looked up the words to find the meaning “God Most High.” While I was intrigued by the realness of my dream and what I read, I didn’t really understand it until talking with a good friend.
She suggested the symbolism of the wind as trials. And, when the wind wiped around me, I grabbed hold of God tighter until the storm passed. In my dream, I was intent on keeping a firm grip and refusing to let the paper with a name of God on it slip away.
Over the past year, I’ve had my share of “windy” days.
I hope will encourage you for the windy days you have as well.
Storms are temporary.
While we’re standing in the middle of a difficult season, it feels like it will last forever. The winds of life can be fierce. Hold on to the truth that seasons change and your storm will end.
You get to choose what you hold on to.
When the wind whips around us, we get to choose what’s in our grip. We can hold on to fear, anxiety, or doubt. Or we can choose to cling to God and our faith. If the wind kicks up harder, cling tighter. When you hold on to your faith in difficult times, God is faithful and fuels our hope.
God is bigger than your storm.
No matter how difficult our challenges or how long our trials, God is bigger than our greatest difficulty. He speaks about our troubles as victories in the past tense. Trust that he is bigger than your storm.
It’s your turn:
As I thought about what to write about this week, my mind kept taking me back to the windy dream on my deck. I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone needed to read this reminder, just now. Friend, if you’re in a windy season right now, I hope this encourages you. I pray that your storm is stilled. And, if you’re in a good season now, it’s a great time to remember your past victories and share your story. When you do, you share hope, you’re reminded of God’s faithfulness, and you can see your own growth.
Encouraged by this post? I’d love to hear from you. What things do you do to give you strength when you’re in a windy season? Why not share, it could help someone else.
Until next time friend, be blessed.
Very encouraging. Just what I needed. I’m in a storm that just doesn’t want to end. God is good. I will see it through. Thank You.
Keep on holding on! Praying your storms end soon. Blessings!
These words you wrote are so true …You get to choose what you hold on to. Great message.
Thank you Melissa. Yes, we do get to choose. I think it’s easy to forget that when we’re in the middle of “stuff.” Thankful we don’t face life’s storms alone. Blessings friend.
As always, sister Susan, thanks for sharing. I had a “windy” day today in the natural as well as the spiritual in relation to my husband. He was even commenting when we were out today (several times over) where did this wind come from? (It wasn’t in the weather report he watches ‘religiously’) I am glad I chose to turn to the Lord and to see this as an attack from the enemy. Many people are praying for his salvation right now and I’ve had a chance today to release all I have and all I am, including my marriage & husband’s salvation to God. I’ve repented for the negative words I used for myself when he’d really beaten me down(not physically, thank God, but verbally) I realized again that he’s scared about our future and what predicament will I get myself into that he can’t rescue me from? I’m thankful I know enough not to borrow tomorrow’s troubles since today holds enough of its own! Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Amen!
Thanks Heidi. Cling in the windy moments of life! God is bigger than our biggest troubles. It doesn’t mean the journey is always easy but that we don’t travel alone. I’m glad you don’t allow yourself to use words against you. I love the book Chatter Box which talks about self-talk. Often if people have spoken negatively to us in the past, we “record” it and keep replaying it. We have to be careful how we allow people (including ourselves) to talk to us. Blessings friend!