Today, God opened my eyes with a revelation. While driving home, rain started to trickle onto my windshield. My automatic response was to turn on my windshield wipers. The trickle didn’t affect me much, I just had to make a slight adjustment. Then, it started to rain. It got my attention more than the trickle because it was louder than my music and it was getting harder to see. I turned the radio up, cranked the windshield wipers, and kept going. Minutes later, I found myself in a full-on downpour. It was hard to see! It was hard to hear! It was difficult to determine where I should go! What should I do? I was disoriented and overwhelmed. This was too much to handle with my own strength, ability, and knowledge. I then asked myself, how did this happen? How did I get here? The storm came out of nowhere. This is like every storm we face in life. It just seems to come out of nowhere without a warning. And if we aren’t prepared with what our response should be, we can spiral out of control. Then, I drove under an overpass, and everything suddenly stopped! It took me by surprise and God spoke to my spirit through this situation.

When I drove under the overpass, everything suddenly stopped. I had my visibility back, I could hear, I was able to determine where I was, and I was no longer so overwhelmed in the storm. The overpass is such an amazing parallel to what God is for us in life-storms. God is our refuge and strength! Read Psalm 91

Psalm 91 NLT

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

This I declare about the LORD:

“He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.

For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.

He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings.

His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day.

Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.

Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you.

Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished.

If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home.

For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.

They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.

You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet! The LORD says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble.

I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation”

The thing is, the peace under the overpass is only for a split second and then you’re back in the storm. That is what can happen to us when we only seek God during the most troubling times and when we find relief, we go right back out on our own. We need to be seeking his peace all the time as if the entire interstate was covered by overpasses.

How often do you make adjustments in your own strength during a life-storm before going to God. Truthfully, my own strength has been my first response all too often. In this rainstorm, I did all I could; and I was left with disorientation, lack of vision, lack of direction, and the inability to hear through all the noise. Your own strength is never enough!

Have you experienced your own efforts falling short? I promise you’re not alone.

When you rush to leave the overpass to get to your destination but not God’s destination; you choose to go back into the storm. You choose to do your own works of the flesh. You choose to not surrender to God and sit in His presence to seek His understanding. When you are separated from God’s shelter there is a lack of peace. When you are in God’s shelter (the overpass), you can refocus, slow down, and rest in God’s shelter. Seek God’s face and His peace that surpasses all understanding.

The gateway to God’s refuge is to be in His presence.  Seek Gods presence by praying, reading the Word, gratitude, thanksgiving, and focusing on God’s promises.