Encouragement

Singing in the Storm

by Shannon Hullet
01/13/26
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Lightning flashed, and thunder roared in almost the same moment. Tearing wind and sheets of pouring rain passed through in unending waves. With our own tent broken and collapsed by the storm, I walked with my friends—my tent-mate as well as two others who set aside their own needs to escort us—to our U-Haul trailer where my tent-mate and I would spend the night.

As we walked, we passed other groups of young people battling their way through the storm or helping others do so. We continued walking as we reached the parking area, searching for our own van. A lantern illuminated the open interior of another cargo trailer where another group of college students had taken refuge from the storm. From that trailer came the sounds of music and singing–songs declaring God’s promises to His people. They were singing in the middle of the storm.

I did not understand it then, nor did I recognize its significance. Yet the Holy Spirit burned this scene from a 2003 experience into my memory. It was a scene that would be easily recalled even after two decades.

Five years later, in 2008, a storm of grief darkened my own life when sudden illness took my cherished cat in a matter of days. The radio played in the background of my truck as I drove with Jenny’s ashes to the place where I would release her. Coming around a bend in the road, I saw the first glimpse of my chosen destination. A song began to play on the radio in that moment. Its words spoke of praising God in the midst of the storm—that even when He does not step in and stop the storm, He is still present with us and we can still praise Him.

And I began to understand. Storms do not change the fact that God is still God and that He is still good. Jesus is worthy of praise simply because of who He is, not just because of what He does.

In the days and weeks after Jenny’s death, I learned to praise in the face of the uncertainty and sorrow, motivated not by my feelings but rather by the knowledge that my God was great. And strangely, in that unhindered praise, I found comfort for my soul as well.

Today, in 2026, another song that talks of singing in the middle of the storm reminded me of these past times in my life. These two events, many years ago, shaped my understanding of who Jesus is and my worship to Him. It is not about me. It is about Him.

From then up through the present day, storms of various kinds have passed through my life. But I have learned a crazy thing over the years. When I turn my focus to Jesus, to worship Him for who He is, He changes my heart. He comforts and heals and strengthens. When I make myself all about Jesus, He reflects Himself back to me with grace that I cannot fully comprehend.

The lyrics to the song that impacted me in 2008 use words of the Psalmist in Psalm 121: “I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1-2 CSB)

The God who carries me through the difficult days is still worthy of my praise, regardless of what happens. I can praise Him—I can sing—in the middle of the storm and in spite of the circumstances. He who made the heavens and the earth is worthy to be praised even through the painful times of my life, even when I question His ways. And in His greatness, He chooses to care enough about me to lead me through.