Trusting God in the Storm

EDIT: I wrote this in 2022 and now rewritten and updated. It’s one of my favorites

Everyone has been through a storm in life. Maybe you’re going through one right now.

I hope you can take comfort in knowing you are not alone. Everyone in this world, whether good or bad, rich or poor, young or old, healthy or sick, has been through storms.

And like everyone you’re not alone in asking God, “Why did this happen?”

This best answer I’ve got is We live in a fallen world.

Simply put, that’s the answer. In a fallen world, bad things are going to happen. We will have Paradise again, as God promised, but that’s not our reality right now.

Things will happen that create some real storms in our lives.

Maybe it’s a storm in your job or in your marriage. A storm with your kids. A storm with your parents.

A storm with your health, or with your finances.

Storms that come from people who love us.

Storms that show up uninvited.

Storms that seemingly come out of nowhere, but here they are…

So, what do you do when everything you trusted in collapses in a storm? How do you prepare for a sudden change in your life? And how do you recover when life hits you on the blind side?

What do you do after all the hard work and dedication and commitment and loyalty – and it all comes crashing down?

The storm has many origins, but the answer is always the same.

You can’t bring anything to God that’s too BIG for Him.

Anything…

You can’t bring anything to God that’s too hard, or too heavy, or too impossible.

He can handle it.

You can’t bring anything to God for which he does not have a perfect answer every single time.

He will make your way clear.

He will give you a sense of confidence and boldness and assurance that you can withstand anything that comes your way, and you might really need that right now.

Take comfort in knowing that God allows very difficult situations into our life to grow us. I think that if God allows a storm in your life, that its ultimate purpose is to bring you out stronger.

What then is a storm?

A storm is a kind of trial; it is an unexpected circumstance that invades your life – Where you don’t know if you’re going to make it or not.

James said to consider it ‘pure joy’ when we face storms of any kind. Why? Because a storm is always designed to increase your faith and give you a deeper experience with God.

Storms aren’t pleasant. They aren’t comfortable and sometimes they can even be life-threatening…

But they always come with a purpose.

A storm in your life can destroy you or it can develop you.

It can build your strength, your wisdom, your knowledge, your understanding, your commitment, your devotion, your faith, your peace, and your joy.

The thing about storms is when God gets through working them into our life, we’re so much better off. We’re cleaner. We are purer. There’s more peace. There’s more joy.

Why? Because what you don’t realize when you’re in the center of a storm is that you’re also in the center of God’s will.

And if you can take your attention off the storm, you’ll see Him there with you. God doesn’t want a storm to destroy you – The truth is that only when we allow Satan to get a grip on us in those times of difficulty do we think that.

God never wants your circumstances to destroy you. A storm is a reality, but He never wants your circumstance to trump His Word. And he doesn’t want your circumstance to trump His presence.

Remember, He’s in the boat too.

Storms and their trials, as inconvenient and as painful as they are, are a journey of discovery.

If I know anything now in life, I know this to be true.

And no matter what you’re going through, there is a promise in the Word of God that will match with the storm.

How many storms does His Word cover?

All of them.

In a fallen world, storms are natural and they are temporary.

There’s no permanent hurricane or tornado.

There’s no permanent earthquake.

There’s no permanent tsunami.

They’re all temporary…

Storms confirm how strong you are. No matter how much faith you think you have – storms will test whether you’ve really got that or not. The bigger the storm, the bigger the test and the greater the potential God sees in your faith that you can handle it if you’re willing to turn to Him for your strength.

God’s love language is trust. I wrote a whole post on that topic, it’s so important.

Think of the Word of God as our anchor. Our anchor is immovable. It doesn’t move. It doesn’t change. It anchors us to the solid rock of Christ.

What I learned in life, that changed everything, is He’s with me when I am in the storm. And He has the power to bring me through the storm.

Jesus is the anchor.

Be careful with how you survive things. You don’t need what this world tells you do – surviving doesn’t mean medicating yourself into numbness or retaliating in anger. What you need most is His love, His power, and His protection.

He will make a way. every single time.

Everybody will face storms.

You’re never going to be defined in life by the things you avoided. It’s what you survived that will define who you are.

How do we know David? Goliath.
How do we know Jacob? Wrestling with God.
How do we know Moses? 40 years in the desert.

You’re not known by the valleys and rivers you avoided, its the valleys and rivers you’ve crossed.

If you’re going to have a good life, it means you’re going to go through some stuff. But the purpose of that stuff isn’t to harm you – God either allows it or causes it – all for a purpose. And that purpose is to grow you.

At some point you’ve got to know the testing of your faith. The Apostle James says it best,

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

(James 1:2-4 NIV)

James says have pure joy when those storms come! Because you know that the storm is going to leave you a better person, a stronger person, and with more stable perseverance. In other words, don’t run from the storm. Stay in the storm until perseverance completes its work.

A storm can wash you up on the shore or it can equip you to be a true servant of God, it’s all about how you respond.

And our response is determined by a number of things, but the most important determiner of how we respond comes down to what is our view of God & how we see Him?

Do you see Him as a vengeful God exacting punishment on his creations for their sins? or do you see Him as a God of love? And compassion. And kindness. And forgiveness. And purpose?

Big difference.

How do you see him? How do you picture God?

Do you see Him behind these storms with anger or punishment? Or do you see him as a loving God sending into your life something that you don’t like, something even terrible – but that He knows is the best thing for you?

I would not be here today – Saved and experiencing a peace and joy in my heart that those who live in darkness (like I once did) will never know, had I not been through the most terrible loss I’ve ever experienced in my life. And it took years even after my Salvation for me to realize that.

But it had to happen.

There was no other way, I know that now. I thank Him everyday for loving me enough to not only have mercy on me and give me a second chance but to give me the greatest gift in life a human being can ever have… Salvation

How do you see Him, and how do you see adversity?

Paul writes to the church at Corinth,

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Cor 10:13 ESV)

When the storm comes, He will not allow you to be tested beyond what you can bear. So, if He allows it – He trusts you.

Trust in Him!

To put it plainly, a storm is a message from God about what He believes you are capable of overcoming. And if you lost your home, God says you can handle a lost home.

Why?

Because He’s got another one coming that’s bigger than that.
A lost relationship? He’s got one coming that’s better than that.

A lost job? Same answer.

in other words, every storm that comes is God saying to you:

Go my child. You can handle this.

I wouldn’t allow it if you couldn’t handle it.

You’ve already got what it takes to overcome it.

Whatever your storm is, God is there. He is at work. He’s at work in the storm, and He is up to something wonderful in every single storm.

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (1 PETER 5:10 ESV)

Trust in Him.