Storms

I know it is easy to praise God when it seems all is going good, but can you praise Him when it seems He is so far away it hurts? As Casting Crowns sing, we need to praise Him in the storm. You see, it is how we react to the storms of life that is what makes us, as Christian's, different from those around us. It is human nature to lash out and want to hurt someone when we are hurting, but God calls us to a higher standard. Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek, to give not just a coat, but our cloak as well. We are called to give more than we are given.

For some, this is easy. Giving praise to God for all He has done is a natural part of the day. The thoughts are easy and predictable as the tides on a calm day. Everywhere you look you are able to see the wonder of God in His creation. It is an endless repetition of worship, as predictable as the waves lapping at the shores on a calm day.

For others, our act of worship is what carves our faith and is one of the hardest things we do. We feel as if the cares of this world are the waves that come as a hurricane is making landfall. We are a pier being battered and tossed without a hope of surviving the night. Our worship is found mostly in the lull between storms, especially right after the storm has passed, and we realize we still have a foundation beneath us. We find we are more thankful for the absence of the storm and waves than we are for the actual storms and waves. What we fail to understand is the need for the storms of our life.

So maybe your storm is worse than mine is, or maybe mine is worse than yours is. In reality, we as humans like to compare ourselves to those around us. We seek pity from those who haven't needed to endure what God is bringing us through, or we seek someone who is worse off than us to make us feel better about our situation. What we need to understand is that to God, your storm is just as important as my storm. He would not allow you to go through something you are unable to handle, but He will give you no less than is needed to build you, your character, and your faith.

Did you catch that? He would not allow you to go through something you are unable to handle, but He will give you no less than is needed to build you, your character, and your faith. Therefore, it is natural to assume my storms will increase in intensity, as I grow closer to God. It is also reasonable to assume that the depth and breadth of my storms are just as scary to me as your "littler" storms are to you. You see, as humans, especially as Americans, we are caught up in a competition to see just who has it the worst, or even who has it the best. What we fail to understand is that to God, all storms are the same. The storm may show in a variety of events, but the outcome is relatively similar.

Think about it, we constantly are told about a storm of some sort reeking havoc somewhere in this nation. It may be a hurricane, firestorm, tornado, ice storm, or even a severe thunderstorm with hail, lightening, and winds. The expectation when we hear about an approaching storm is the same: destruction, loss of life, heroic rescues, and people we hear about on the news who foolishly "rode it out".

Why is it any different for our faith? The storms of our faith will cause destruction of either our faith in God or a stronghold (a lie believed) that has taken residence in our heart. The storms of our faith will bring death, spiritually, to a relationship with either Satan or God. We may even have a heroic rescue performed by a friend in Christ who was willing to yield to the call God placed on their life. In addition, we will hear of people who foolishly rode out the storms of faith, clinging to the wrong things, putting hope in something of the earth, not of heaven.

We need to understand the same God who was willing to give His son for us is bigger than the storms of life. We need to take refuge in His strength to get us through the day. We need to cling to Him when all hope is gone. We need to know that He is our refuge when the storms of life are beating us down. When we accept the fact that God is bigger than anything we are in, the storm becomes a thing of awe, a thing of beauty that God allows us to witness so we can better know Him.