We have been carefully watching Hurricane Wilma for the last 48 hours. We have already cancelled a lecture hosted by our church Saturday night and are now making decisions about our Sunday schedule. If the current projections hold true the storm should pass south of us, possibly as a category 1 or 2 hurricane. That would be very difficult for Naples and would spare us the brunt of the storm.

Last year we had 4 major hurricanes that hit Florida. One of them (Charley) directly hit Cape Coral, two others affected us and the other one (Ivan) threatened us before slamming Alabama and the northern panhandle of Florida. After Charley, we learned to pray more humbly about our desire for protection. To pray for the Lord to change the path of a storm headed toward us is, in effect, to pray that it will hit others. We no longer pray like that at our church. Instead, we try to remember to pray that the Lord will direct the storm into the exact path that will bring Him the greatest glory. If that means directly over us, then so be it. What matters is that our Lord be glorified in and through the storm.

We have already seen God bring great good out of the storms we endured last year. While we do not relish going through another one, if He directs its path to us, by His grace we will accept it and fight hard to remember His great and precious promises to us that Jesus Christ has made absolutely certain by His life, death and resurrection.

Join us in praying that God will direct Wilma in ways that will put His glory on display, accomplish good for His people and bring many folks to faith in Jesus Christ.