Learning to Live by Faith

(The words to the hymn and the keyboard recording are posted at the end of this devotional.)

This hymn gives us helpful instructions for what to do when the tempests of life sweep over our souls. I have been writing on here about the Polyvagal Theory and fight, flight, and freeze. If something registers with our nervous systems as a threat, we first try to fight…if that’s not going to work, we try to flee…and if we’re not going to be able to get away, we freeze. It takes a tremendous amount of energy to stay in a freeze. You are staying still, but you are not in a restful state. Think of the different energy that would be involved in just quietly resting beneath a tree in the woods and the energy involved in having to run from under those trees and having to hide in some large rocks from a tiger that was chasing you. You would be trying to stay quiet so the tiger wouldn’t find you and you would be waiting for an opportunity to flee to safety. But your heart would be distressed and your breathing would be restricted.

If you were frequently in a triggered state when you were little, you weren’t able to develop a baseline for being able to relax. Being still felt more like hiding in the rocks rather than resting under the trees. It felt more like a freeze than real rest and relaxation. So we are trying to develop some new options for our nervous system to use other than always just being triggered into fight, flight, or freeze. This hymn, “Bend Low,” was really helpful to me in starting to see what it means to remain calm and not be triggered when something stressful is happening. The new option we can learn is how to “bend low” until the storm passes over. Instead of going into freeze, and experiencing all the stress we would feel while hiding in the rocks from the tiger, we can bend low in prayer before God and let the storm pass over our heads. Our hearts can remain calm in His presence.

The 1st verse describes how the tempests of life sweep over your soul, causing your strength to quickly fade. Then it says, “Bend low thy head while the thunders roll, for the storm will soon be past.” Envision yourself doing that…the sky starts to get dark and you see that a storm is sweeping through. You bend low under the shelter of God’s wing. He shields you from the storm. Your heart remains calm. You cry out to Him in prayer and you feel His comforting presence with you.

The chorus says to “Bend low till the storm passes by.” Envision the darkness of night fleeing and beams of sunlight starting to shine in the cloudless sky. You see a rainbow. And God says to you that the storm has passed and He gently lifts up your head. You stand up and begin walking with Him again.

The 2nd and 3rd verses talk about how Jesus has sovereign control over the storm. It says, “The lightnings obey our Lord’s command, And the winds his word fulfill;” “He whispers, ‘Peace,’ and the clouds are gone, And the winds are lulled to sleep.” This is referencing the time that Jesus calmed the storm in Matthew 8:23-27. It reminds me of the 2nd verse of the hymn “Be Still My Soul” which says, “Be still my soul, the waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.” Hattie Peterson is talking about the same thing here in this hymn. When a storm sweeps through, we can be comforted by the knowledge that Jesus has sovereign control over the winds and waves. See how they were immediately calm after Jesus rebuked them:

Jesus Calms the Storm

²³ Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ²⁴ Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶ He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

²⁷ The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” (Matthew 8:23-27 NIV)

The 2^nd verse talks about how some of the storms of life are part of God’s discipline of His children. I wanted to write a little bit about that today. It’s something we can talk about more over time. The 2^nd verse says to us when the disciplinary storm is passing through, “Oh, bow thee low ‘neath his chast’ning hand, Nor resist his holy will.” So, a disciplinary storm is one kind of storm. There are afflictions/storms that happen for different reasons, and God’s purpose in a storm is not always revealed to us now. Some storms are disciplinary. And some storms are a part of our cross we are carrying…part of the suffering and trials we will face in a fallen world. But God is sovereign over all of it.

When you are thinking about this concept that God allows the storms in our lives for righteous purposes, it is important to remember that God is not a human being. He is infinitely higher than us. He is God. God operates in higher ways that are beyond our understanding. So, when you are working with the imagery and envisioning the storms, be careful not to envision a human being sending storms at you because he is angry. It is revealed to us that God allows storms, but we do not understand how He operates because He works in ways that are beyond our comprehension. But we know that He is holy, righteous, and good, and, therefore, He cannot do anything that is mean or cruel to us. So as you are envisioning God on His throne, sovereignly controlling the storms, take time to contemplate with awe that there is a higher process going on in everything and remember that we must wait to learn more about it in heaven. Be in awe of how God is watching over us as our loving Father and is guiding us through this world below. There is a purpose in everything that happens.

Also remember that this world is not as it should be. God created it perfect…the Garden of Eden was a paradise. There were no storms. That is what God wanted for us…to live in paradise with Him. And everything that happens to us here in this fallen world is fitting us, or preparing us, for life in heaven – which will be paradise restored. So what I’m saying is that storms are part of life in a fallen world. Sin brought in suffering. Sin leads to imbalances in your body and in the energy of your environment. Sin creates disharmony…dissonance…it creates a negative energy…it creates a chaotic, stormy energy. Sometimes God allows us to experience these storms in order to bring us to repentance. One important thing to remember is that although God’s ways and processes are beyond our comprehension, He will explain what we need to know of them to us when we call out to Him in prayer. So when a storm of life sweeps over your soul, don’t go into freeze. Rather, bend low in prayer before God and ask for His wisdom and guidance and help to know what is going on. What kind of storm is it? Listen for the words of instruction and comfort that He speaks to you. There are many Bible verses about how the Lord will direct your path. He will be with you and guide you through the storms.

While I’ve been writing this devotional, I started seeing imagery in my mind to go along with this hymn. I started seeing the earth like a globe…an aerial view of the earth…and I started seeing the pathway that I am walking on with God through this world. I see that this fallen world is filled with disturbances and storms. And sometimes the pathway God is leading me on has a storm on it. Sometimes it’s a disciplinary storm intended to bring me to repentance about something…sometimes it’s a storm that is part of suffering in a fallen world. I see myself in the midst of a storm of chronic illness. If the storm you are encountering is a chronic illness like what I am experiencing, it might not completely clear until you reach heaven. Your pathway might stay cloudy in a certain sense. But I just recently found a hymn called “Jesus Is My Sunshine.” And we can rejoice in the knowledge that as Christians, Jesus will still be our sunshine on a cloudy, stormy pathway. We can still have happiness and joy. So I see Jesus walking we me as my light, guiding me through the storms each step of the way.

I wanted to share some study notes with you that will help explain the concept of God allowing storms in our lives for disciplinary reasons. It will help us see how God is disciplining us as a loving father disciplines his child. His purpose is correction, not destruction. He is calling out to us when we have wandered from His pathway with the intention of getting us to return to Him. And writing that made me think of more imagery…sometimes we encounter storms while we are walking on the pathway with Him, and sometimes we encounter storms because we have wandered away from His pathway. Maybe that is a way we can differentiate between disciplinary storms and storms that are part of suffering in a fallen world.  Storms we encounter on the pathway are part of our cross we are carrying, and storms we encounter when we are wandering away from Him are disciplinary. You might even encounter a storm when you have only taken a slight step off the pathway…remember, God is trying to keep you close to Him.

Psalm 103:8-14 (ESV) says:

⁸The Lord is merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
⁹ He will not always chide,
    nor will he keep his anger forever.
¹⁰ He does not deal with us according to our sins,
    nor repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west,
    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
¹³ As a father shows compassion to his children,
    so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
¹⁴ For he knows our frame;
    he remembers that we are dust.

Matthew Poole’s commentary on verse 14 says, “So the sense is, He (God) considereth that if he should let loose his hand upon us, and pour forth all his wrath, we should be suddenly and irrecoverably destroyed, and therefore he spareth us.”

And one of Barnes’ Notes on this verse are: “He remembereth that we are dust – Made of the earth. Genesis 2:7; Genesis 3:19. In his dealings with us he does not forget of what frail materials he made us, and how little our frames can bear. He tempers his dealings to the weakness and frailty of our nature, and his compassion interposes when the weight of sorrows would crush us. Remembering, too, our weakness, he interposes by his power to sustain us, and to enable us to bear what our frame could not otherwise endure. Compare the notes at Isaiah 57:16.” Psalm 103:14 Commentaries Biblehub.com

So what they are saying is that when God is disciplining us, He does not let loose His full wrath on us. He is correcting us in love to us. He will show mercy to us. There will be limits to the storm.

Barnes’ Notes said to look at the note on Isaiah 57:16. In Isaiah 57:16 (NIV) God says, “I will not accuse them forever, nor will I always be angry, for then they would faint away because of me— the very people I have created.”

The Berean Study Bible’s notes on this verse say:

“For I will not accuse you forever – This phrase reflects God’s merciful nature and His willingness to forgive. In the context of Isaiah, God is addressing the Israelites, who have repeatedly turned away from Him. Despite their rebellion, God promises not to hold His accusations against them indefinitely. This aligns with His character as described in Exodus 34:6-7, where He is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” The temporary nature of God’s accusation is a reminder of His covenantal faithfulness and His desire for restoration rather than perpetual judgment.

nor will I always be angry – God’s anger is a response to sin and rebellion, yet it is not His permanent disposition. This phrase reassures the faithful that His wrath is not eternal. In the broader biblical narrative, God’s anger is often depicted as a tool for correction rather than destruction, as seen in the story of Jonah and Nineveh (Jonah 3:10). The temporary nature of His anger underscores His ultimate goal of reconciliation and peace, as seen in the New Testament through the work of Jesus Christ, who embodies God’s love and forgiveness.

for then the spirit of man would grow weak before Me – Here, the “spirit of man” refers to human frailty and the inability to withstand prolonged divine displeasure. This phrase acknowledges human limitations and the need for divine compassion. It echoes Psalm 103:14, which states that God knows our frame and remembers that we are dust. The recognition of human weakness is a call to humility and dependence on God’s grace, emphasizing that without His mercy, humanity would falter under the weight of divine judgment.

Isaiah 57:16 paints a portrait of a holy God who confronts sin yet refuses to prosecute endlessly. His anger is real but brief, calibrated to our frailty so that our spirits do not collapse. He acts this way because He is the Creator who treasures the breath He placed in us. His ultimate intention is restoration, leading us from accusation to forgiveness, from wrath to mercy, and from weakness to renewed life in Him.”

And Barnes’ Notes on this verse are:

“For the spirit should fail before me – Critics have taken a great deal of pains on this part of the verse, which they suppose to be very obscure. The simple meaning seems to be, that if God should continue in anger against people they would be consumed. The human soul could not endure a long-continued controversy with God. Its powers would fail; its strength decay; it must sink to destruction. As God did not intend this in regard to his own people; as he meant that his chastisements should not be for their destruction, but for their salvation; and as he knew how much they could bear, and how much they needed, he would lighten the burden, and restore them to his favor. And the truth taught here is, that if we are his children, we are safe. We may suffer much and long. We may suffer so much that it seems scarcely possible that we should endure more. But he knows how much we can bear; and he will remove the lead (or load), so that we shall not be utterly crushed. A similar sentiment is found in the two following elegant passages of the Psalms, which are evidently parallel to this, and express the same idea:

‘But he being full of compassion,

Forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not;

Yea many a time burned he his anger away,

And did not stir up all his wrath.

For he remembered that they were but flesh;

A wind that passeth away and returneth not again.’ (Psalm 78:38)” Isaiah 57:16 Commentaries Biblehub.com

These study notes can help us see that if we are experiencing a disciplinary storm, it is important not to be overwhelmed by it. God is not allowing the storm in order to destroy us. He wants us to call out to Him and let Him show us what needs to be changed…what we need to repent of. And once we have a humble and contrite heart and have repented and returned to Him, the storm will lift.

As you are listening to this hymn, take time to envision this fallen world that is filled with storms. See Jesus walking on the pathway with you and remember that He is lovingly guiding you on the pathway that is marked out for you all the way to heaven. God is our loving heavenly Father. His eye is always on you. He understands all of the reasons why things happen the way they do…He knows the purpose of every storm. And we trust in His goodness, wisdom, love, mercy, holiness, and righteousness, and we eagerly await the day when we get to heaven and Jesus sits down with us and looks back over the pathway we walked in this life and He explains to us why that was the pathway He designed for us through this world. Keep working on developing that closeness to Him…keep learning to trust Him…and you will be able to rest in His care more and more each day.

Here is the hymn “Bend Low” by Hattie H. Peterson:

Hymnal Page Scan: The Gospel Hymn Book: a collection of new and standard hymns for Sunday Schools, Young People’s Societies, Gospel and Social Meetings page 124 | Hymnary.org

Keyboard Recording:

1 The tempests of life sweep o’er thy soul,
And thy strength is failing fast;
Bend low thy head while the thunders roll,
For the storm will soon be past.

Chorus:
Bend low till the storm passes by,
And the darkness of night has fled;
Till the sun shines out in a cloudless sky,
And the Lord lifts up thy head.

2 The lightnings obey our Lord’s command,
And the winds his word fulfill;
Oh, bow thee low ‘neath his chast’ning hand,
Nor resist his holy will. [Chorus]

3 He watches above; the stars shine on,
And the spheres their courses keep;
He whispers, “Peace,” and the clouds are gone,
And the winds are lulled to sleep. [Chorus]

4 Look upward, sad soul! The storm is past;
See the bow of promise shine!
The sky above thee is bright at last,
With a glory of love divine. [Chorus]