Icy Blast.

This past week has been quite a blast from Old Man Winter. Although I took these photos from the ice storm we had in Springfield last year, this week’s combination of freezing rain, sleet, and snow was still a major storm for us. As a matter of fact, there are currently about 1 million folks without power from Texas all the way to Kentucky and beyond. Thankfully, we got more sleet and snow than freezing rain so not as many folks are without power in our immediate area. But we remember all too clearly what powerlessness feels like.

Today’s events with weather, coupled with the economic challenges and so many folks without jobs can surely make a person feel like they are powerless in many respects. But there is one thing that no one can take away from us and that is the privilege of prayer. Prayer changes things - and it especially changes us. It helps give us peace in the midst of uncertainty and chaos - even unemployment and power outages.

The apostle Paul was a very devoted man who loved God with all his heart. He wrote a large portion of what we call the New Testament portion of the Bible. One of his letters was written to the people at Philippi. He told them in the book of Philippians 4:6-7, that we should not be anxious about anything but present our requests to God. And God in return would give us a peace that would “guard” our hearts and minds. That’s the kind of peace that even an icy blast can’t steal!