When You Can't See the Sense in the Storm

       

        Storms are constantly brewing in our lives. It’s been said that you’re either in a storm, coming out of a storm, or going into a storm. That really seems to be the case on this side of eternity, and sometimes, the storms batter me so badly I don’t know if I can take any more. If it isn’t one thing, it’s ten others. Death, disease, broken relationships, arguments, and discord seem to prevail during the storms. Does anyone else ever feel that way? I know I can’t be the only one. 

        As tempting as it is to give up during these times, we know we can’t. Sometimes we’re tempted to curl up in a ball and try to just wait out the storm. “Might as well pray, right? There’s absolutely nothing left to do,” can easily become our mantra.

       While praying is never a bad thing, we can’t let it be a last resort. Instead, it should be where we turn as soon as we see dark clouds on the horizon. This is where praying without ceasing comes into play (1Thess 5:17). If we’re in constant fellowship with God, it makes the storms a bit more bearable: the boat doesn’t rock so hard and the thunder isn’t as startling. Why?

       When we are in constant prayer, God tends to give us peace and perspective. We have peace because we know the Master of the storm has us in His hand. We have perspective because we can trust that God’s looking at a bigger, better plan that we don’t see.

       It’s so easy to look at our situation and forget that there’s a bigger purpose. We get so distracted by the dark clouds that we can’t see that the storm is taking us where we need to be. We forget that one day, the dark clouds of life will part away forever and Christ will return. We seem to think that every storm will last forever, though we know that everything has its appointed time and season (Ecc. 3:1-8.)

       Death, grief, pain, insecurity, and all the other struggles of this life are universal (Matt 5:45.) Just know that you’re in good company when the hard times come. I heard a preacher say recently that most of our Bible was given to us through someone else’s trial. David wrote many Psalms while running for his life. Paul wrote several letters while imprisoned. Jeremiah is the “weeping prophet.”

       I could sit and write about all the beauty of the pain you’re dealing with, but I won’t. In the moment of hurt, pain isn’t pretty. The emptiness, hurt, confusion, and overwhelming sense of loneliness is real. Knowing that God has a bigger purpose for your pain helps, but it doesn’t work as a magic cure to make your sorrow go away. The truth is that we’re still human and still bound up by flesh. Our flesh hurts sometimes, even if our spirit knows that God has everything in control. I’m not telling you to straighten up and wait for the sun to come back out. Instead, I offer two pieces of advice:

        Don’t let the pain that is in your heart steal your faith. At these times, it’s more important than ever to cling to the Lord and His goodness. His hand will guide you so much better than anything you could do on your own. It’s easy to want to walk out on God when things don’t seem to make any sense. But just know that there’s something God is preparing you for on the other side.

        Feel the pain and emotions that God has given you, then leave it with God. Trying to swallow hurt doesn’t help. God gave us emotions so we could understand what we need from Him. Feeling the emotions, and then crying out to God about the turmoil within your soul can help you process things in a healthy way.

        Advice is all well & good, but what about the reason? Sometimes we need to step back and ground advice in the Truth, which can help activate it in our hearts. It’s always a bit easier to do things when our actions have a specific purpose driving them forward. Here’s some truths to help you really understand the purpose of persevering in the storm:

• Our lives are so short. They’re too short to hold grudges against those we love. They’re too short to not ask for forgiveness. They’re too short to ignore the nudging of God.
• All the trials we face in this life will never be able to compare to the brightness of the glory that is to come. No matter what happens, God has it all under control.

        Deliverance doesn’t always look like we imagine. We want to be taken from our woes entirely. Instead, God may choose to equip us for battle. But take heart -- aren’t left to fend for ourselves. We have the armor of God to help us along the way (Eph 6:10-18). But we can’t just sit there and expect a miracle. We should be active in our waiting. We have to be sober and vigilant (1 Peter 5:8.) We must stand guard and keep our eyes to the skies. We must pray and seek opportunities from God.

         Storms will undoubtedly crop up in your life sooner or later. But the real state of your heart is revealed by your actions. Do you give up, hoping the storm will pass you by? Or do you come to God in prayer, asking to see the lessons in the storm? The number of storms you face in your lifetime isn’t what really matters – it matters how you react when the situation changes and no longer favors you.