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Imagine taking everything in your home – every piece of furniture, every picture, all clothing, all electronics…everything – and throwing it in the rubbish. That’s what many of my friends and family members are doing in my hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

No, they’re not all subscribing to a minimalist lifestyle because they read a new book or decided to downsize their lives. It’s a bit more unexpected than that. A few weeks ago, in a 72 hour time period, about a meter of rain fell over a large part of the state which flooded the area and now over 200,000 people are displaced, 110,000 homes are destroyed and sadly, 13 people lost their lives. My Facebook news feed has been a steady stream of homes and streets filled with water, people getting around in boats instead of cars, and the aftermath of people’s treasures and belongings piled up to be thrown away.

It’s been painful to see. Lives have been turned upside down overnight.

But out of this tragedy, something incredible has happened. The communities have come together in ways that were previously thought to be impossible. People have been helping each other in immeasurable ways. And even more amazingly, people’s faith in God has been made stronger. It’s been extremely encouraging seeing the people who were saying before, “Pray that my home doesn’t flood due to all of this rain,” now saying, “Thank you God for protecting us. Even though we’ve lost all of our possessions, we have You and we have each other.”

Powerful.

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you…”
Isaiah 43:1b-2

It’s hard to “fear not” at times. It’s can be hard to be remember God’s promises. When the flood of life begins to overwhelm us, worry can creep into our souls. We see the rising waters and we get scared. We try to handle these things on our own, rather than trusting God and his promise that we are His. He will be with us. We will not be overwhelmed or consumed.

We may never experience and actual flood in our lifetimes, but we all have storms that seemingly overwhelm us. Maybe you’ve weathered the storm already and have learned from it. Or maybe you’re in the middle of one right now, watching the waters rise.

How are you handling it? Think about it. What are you doing about it? How can you trust God in the midst of this flood? How can God work through someone else to help you weather the storm? Are you reminded of God’s promises? If not, read that passage again and know that God says:

I will be with you.
Rivers shall not overwhelm you.
Fire shall not burn you.

Fear not.