The Calm Before the Storm?

It's Sunday night, August 31st.

The largest evacuation in the history of the state of Louisiana is still taking place.

This afternoon, the church where I serve opened its doors as an evacuee shelter. Of the shelters in northwestern Louisiana, only two have not reached capacity. In the Shreveport-Bossier area, there are an estimated 60,000 evacuees.

As a shelter recognized by the American Red Cross, we have made the necessary preparations to help those removed from their homes by the threat of Hurricane Gustav. We can house 100 people. As I write this, we are on the brink of capacity.

Tomorrow morning I am supposed to lead a devotional for anyone who is interested. What do I say? My words of hope seem shallow. After all, I am not displaced from my home. I am not in a shelter surrounded by people I do not know. Yet, I want those in this shelter to feel the peace of Christ.

Can I offer that peace as Gustav begins a destructive rampage through the Gulf states, including my own state of Louisiana?

Oh, how I pray that Jesus would calm the storm like he did so many years ago.

But, then again, maybe the greatest storm is not the hurricane. Maybe the greatest storms are found within the hearts of those affected by Gustav.

And it is those storms that Jesus will calm.