When Fear Doesn’t Rule in the Heart of the Storm

What would you do if you didn’t fear? Go on, think about that for a minute. What would you do, if fear wasn’t a factor?

“Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.”
1 John 4:18 NLT

Back in September, my husband and I took a trip to Puerto Rico for our 5-year wedding anniversary. When we got there, there was this little Tropical Storm named Maria forming down there, but it was something that we had heard mentioned and really didn’t pay any attention to. Well, our second morning there I received a text from a friend saying “you need to get out of Puerto Rico, there is a category 3 hurricane heading straight at the island.” I looked for flights back home from the local airport, with no luck, and had a peace that passed understanding about what may be ahead of us.

We prayed that the storm would lessen, but at dinner that night a news flash came across the television screen that said that Maria had been strengthened to a category 5 hurricane.

No Escape, Yet No Fear

We tried to get out again, this time through the San Juan airport. Every time they found tickets and pressed “book” the seats were gone.  We would have gone anywhere on the east coast to get out. And there was nothing… not even fear that there was a category 5 hurricane coming directly to the island we were vacationing on.

I remember thinking that we should have been scared. A category 5 hurricane is kind of a big deal, but we only had a peace that surpassed our understanding.

The storm was set to hit in two days. So, we helped the management company prepare my aunt’s house, made sure we had enough food for a couple days, and trusted that the God who allowed us to stay on the island would see us through the worst storm we would ever experience.

Not gonna lie, although we had no fear, the storm was really bad. We only had a little window that let light in the house, and we watched as the wind blew the rain horizontally.

The Aftermath…

We thought that once the storm was over we would be able to call our loved ones and tell them that we were okay and then get on our flight that coming Sunday to come home. That didn’t happen.

Cell service, along with any other form of communication was basically nonexistent. Surely it would come back soon, we thought, but it didn’t. We didn’t know the condition of the island after the storm, we didn’t know if we would be able to get food if we ran out, and we didn’t know if we would be able to get home on our scheduled flight that weekend.

Faith.

All we had was faith that the God who got us through the storm would be with us every step of the way until we got home.

God Was With Us

And as we took every step in faith, He met us every step of the way. We eventually decided that we needed to drive to San Juan on the other side of the island, because San Juan was the only airport that was having flights getting out. We had a lot of questions, and no answers. But we trusted in the One who did know what was before us. We didn’t know what the next few hours or days held, but we knew He would provide our every need. And He did.

They didn’t know what the next few hours or days would hold, but they knew God would provide their every need. And He did. Click To Tweet

He provided someone to travel with us across the island who knew how to get to San Juan, when we had no other direction. When we got to the airport as it was closing for the night, He graciously provided us a really nice hotel at no cost, when there were no available hotel rooms in the area. He somehow got us an extra night in the hotel, when we were supposed to be out of the room, and a flight home only one day later than we were scheduled. He wasn’t only with us every step of the way, He had gone before us to pave our way.

What would happen if we stopped letting fear rule?

When Fear Doesn’t Rule

One thing that I have struggled with since the storm, is why would God allow us to stay in such a nice hotel, when so many others were sleeping in the airport? To me it didn’t make sense. Why us? But over the past couple months He has been showing me a simple yet profound truth. This truth had less to do with the hotel we were in but what He wanted to show us not only in Puerto Rico but over the months that followed.

Here is the truth… Ready for it?

His perfect love drives out all fear, as we step out of fear and into faith, He provides our every need and even more so than we could ever ask or imagine.

What would happen if we stopped praising God with one hand and holding onto our fears with the other? If we stopped lifting one hand in worship and clutching our doubts with the other? If we offered both hands in faith and praise to Jesus?

What would happen if we didn’t need to see the way, but trusted fully in the One who makes the way?

“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”
Psalm 119:105

Praise God In Your Storm

Beautiful one, I want you and I to walk through life like we walked through Puerto Rico. I want you to walk through life not seeing the way, but trusting in the One who makes the way. To have enough faith to step out of the boat and grab hold of Jesus even when you don’t have all the answers, because that is when your faith will increase, that is when He will provide in ways you can’t even imagine, and that is when you will walk on water.

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”
John 14:27 NLT

So what would you do if fear wasn’t a factor? I would love to hear what you would do if you had two hands open to what Jesus has before you, so I can pray for you in your journey to follow Him.

To read more about our experience in Puerto Rico, you can read my posts that were written while we were there here.

What would happen if we didn't need to see the way, but trusted fully in the One who makes the way? Click To Tweet