Struggles and Storms
Have you ever stood in front of a project or looked at the seemingly insurmountable task, and asked yourself, “How in the world am I going to get through this?” Maybe you have said…I wish I didn’t have to do or go through… (you fill in the blank). I know I have! In these moments we tend to get upset and stressed out, we may panic, and we may become hopeless wondering how to do what lies ahead. Sometimes we come up with our own how-to plan, all the while fearing that it won’t work.
How many of us have given up or been tempted to give up? We have felt hopeless in the eye of the task, the disease, or the storm. If not us it’s a friend or a loved one who seems, “too far gone,” or someone in our churches that no one wants to deal with because they just bring too much drama. They are looked at as if they’re in a downward spiral with no way out.
In the book of Mark, Jesus and His disciples find themselves in the midst of a storm. The disciples are full of fear. They question how Jesus could sleep so peacefully through the storm and He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40)
So it comes down to faith. I have to choose to have faith, not in my own ability, because left to my own devices, I fail miserably. I have to have faith in God who promised to NEVER leave me or forget about me. With my faith centered on Him, I can complete the insurmountable task, go through the unthinkable situation, navigate the storms of life no matter what they are. I have to choose to put my faith in God and what He can do through me.
Being a Christian does not exempt us from troubles and storms in life. It is not a guarantee of sunshine and happiness all the time. If someone told you that, I apologize for them because, well…it was a lie. The reality is that the storms of life may rock us to the core, they may leave us with a visible limp, they may break our hearts, or they may threaten our very lives. The amazing thing is that while we are not exempt from the struggles and storms…we serve a God who is by our side every step of the way. God does not promise to get us out of the struggle or the storm, He promises to stay by our side as we go THROUGH it!
“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)
Read those verses again. This is where we find our hope in the storm. When we are centered on God, He will see us through. When the circumstances of life shake us to our core…the circumstances find GOD at our core. God is there, He holds our hand and He picks us up when we don’t have the strength to take another step.
Watch the following video and listen to the words. Even if God doesn’t get rid of the storm, our hope can still be in Him. The storm may rage around us but we can have faith and rest in His promises and be able to say… IT. IS. WELL.