We Can Learn a Lot from a Buffalo

Everyone of us encounter storms in this life, and I’m not talking about the weather.  Our storm may involve our personal or professional life, a conflict with a family member, an unexpected setback, a workplace issue, or grieving the loss of someone we love.  Are you facing a storm at this moment?  What do you do?

“His thunder announces the coming storm; even the cattle make known its approach” (Job 36:33).

We can learn valuable lessons from nature.  Let’s take cows for example and their close relative the buffalo.  When cows see a storm approaching, they tend to huddle together and run away from the storm.  They try to avoid the storm by outrunning it but soon get exhausted and pounded.  It’s impossible to outrun the storm.  Running away doesn’t help.  And running away doesn’t help us either when a storm darkens our world.

How do buffalo react when they see a storm on the horizon?  They confront it, face it head on, and charge directly into it.  This way, they are able to get through the storm more quickly, minimizing exposure and suffering.  It’s not easy.  It may be painful.  But it’s the best way.

Storms are scary, but when we face the storm in our life and work our way through it, we find God is there.  “Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm” (Job 38:1 and 40:6).

“The Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.  His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet” (Nahum 1:3).

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isaiah 43:2).

In this life, storms will come and storms will go.  God is with us as we walk through and pass through the storms of life.  It’s natural to want to avoid these storms, but the truth is we can’t.  We must confront them head on if we want to move past them more quickly and effectively.

If your storm is grief, check this out https://www.griefshare.org/.  Run through your storm, whatever it is, with Jesus and His Word https://karennorton.com/zoom-bible-study/.

Find your herd.  And when life’s storms approach, be the buffalo and not the cow.  We can learn a lot from a buffalo.