Psalm 91 in the Bible tells us, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (verse 1). This psalm is a beautiful reminder of safety during storms.

Today my heart goes out for ideas to comfort and bless the people in Oklahoma. Prayers of peace, harmony, and safety are alive and active now. I’m alerted to this advice in the New Testament: “Be instant in season, out of season” (II Timothy 4:2). In other words, as we hear threatening weather forecasts or even see storms gathering, we can immediately acknowledge God’s supremacy and power to protect each of us in frightening conditions. We can be witnesses to divine Love’s absolute control and intelligence to neutralize and destroy all forces that are unlike Love. 

When our daughter was growing up, we would often pray together through summer thunderstorms. We would go out and sit on our swing underneath the covered front porch and sing Mary Baker Eddy’s “Mother’s Evening Prayer.” The first verse of the hymn starts, “O gentle presence, peace and joy and power; / O Life divine, that owns each waiting hour” (No. 207). This gave each of us a clear sense of God’s power and presence, and that right where we were, we were safe under His protection.

Our daughter and her family now live in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. One spring day, two years ago, my husband and I were watching television when an alert came that a large tornado had struck Tuscaloosa, leaving behind a wide path of destruction. We immediately called our daughter and learned that she was safe. Their home was several miles from the tornado’s path.

I still felt impelled to pray. I turned to the Bible for direction to quell my sense of fear and insecurity. I opened the Bible at random to the book of Ezekiel, chapter 1, verse 10. Ezekiel, a prophet who had some very tough experiences, saw a vision. This vision made him look into the center core of spiritual existence. This holy vision—a vision of God’s supremacy—helped him minister to others even as they faced “storms” of destruction and turmoil.

I was also directed to study the definition of good in the glossary of Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. The definition reads: “GOOD. God; Spirit; omnipotence; omniscience; omnipresence; omni-action” (p. 587). After reading this, I gained a deeper sense of God’s goodness and power in control of all circumstances, despite what can look like convincing evidence to the contrary.

I declared out loud and with great vehemence, “God is governing!”

About a week after the storm, my husband and I drove to Tuscaloosa. We called it “our prayer trip” as we looked deeply into the Bible and, in particular, the book of Ezekiel, along with the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health, for ideas on God’s omnipresence and omnipotence. As Ezekiel had been called by God, we also felt called to be witnesses to God’s supreme authority and restorative power for this community. 

As we came into town, we saw numerous relief stations with volunteers distributing food, clothing, and other necessities. We later learned it was the local churches that were the first to respond quickly to the needs of the community. And help was pouring in from all over the United States. One specific expression of abundance was a response to the request for tennis shoes so that people could walk through the debris safely. So many shoes arrived that they had to find a warehouse for the overflow. Examples like these could fill a page, and my husband and I rejoiced in the wonderful examples of the community coming together.

Shortly after our trip, I was working in a retail clothing store. In midmorning a huge black cloud suddenly descended on the city along with very strong winds. I could see the trees bending and branches falling outside the store’s large picture window. Immediately I declared out loud and with great vehemence, “God is governing! God is in control! God is keeping everyone in our city safe!”

The three ladies who were in the store with me chimed in, saying, “Amen! Amen!” The local paper later reported that what we had experienced was a tremendous wind shear event. A number of large trees had been uprooted and a nearby railroad crossing had been severely damaged. However, despite the damage, and much to everyone’s surprise, no one had been hurt. I’m grateful to know that we always have God’s protection.

Let’s rejoice that today we dwell “in the secret place of the most High” and that we are safely abiding “under the shadow of the Almighty.”