Your Storm Will Grow Calm
"They saw the works of the Lord, His wonderful deeds in the deep. For He spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits end. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and He guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men (Psalm 107: 24-31)."
If you are in a storm right now my friend, you are not alone. If you are not currently in a storm, be prepared because one will come. The definition of a storm is 'a violent disturbance of the atmosphere with strong winds and usually rain.' This same description can be used in relation to storms we go through in life. They can come on all of a sudden, they can cause damage, they can be powerful and even bring fear. Jesus never promised the absence of storms, but promised His presence in the midst of it. "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)."
God is in control of every storm. Nothing happens that does not first pass through His loving hands. God is righteous, He is holy, He is merciful, He is just and He is always, always good. Therefore, everything that happens to you or to me, no matter how difficult and no matter how heart-breaking, God has allowed and will use for our good and His glory. In our hearts we know those words are true, but what about the times in life the pain is so devastating, we don't understand and cannot imagine how on earth it is for our good. We can ask God why, but even if He chose to give us the answer, the hurt would still be in our hearts. God is God alone. We are limited in our thinking. God is so much more than we could ever imagine. We cannot even begin to understand why a loved one is taken too soon, why evil seems to prevail, why relationships end, why someone we love has cancer...the list could go on and on. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55: 8-9)."
While we may not ever understand why certain things happen in our lives, there is one thing we can always be sure of, and that is we can always trust the Lord Jesus. Life is always changing. There are times we are on the mountaintop and times we are in the valley, however, Jesus will never change. He is the one constant we can always depend on. He is faithful and true to His word. Whatever He speaks will come to pass. It is in knowing Him and clinging to Him throughout life that we can go through every storm. Also remember the storm is only temporary. Just as Jesus told His disciples, "let us go to the other side of the lake (Luke 8: 22), we too will go to the other side of our storm. Though the fierce winds rage and the waters grow higher, we will not be overtaken. "But now, this is what the Lord says-He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you O Israel: Fear not for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name, you are Mine. 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. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba are in your stead. Since you are precious and honored in My sight, and because I love you (Isaiah 43: 1-4)." The Lord gives us several wonderful promises in these verses. The first one is for us not to fear because we belong to Him. The next promise is He will be with us. Third, we will pass through the rivers that shall not sweep over us, or in other words, we will make it through the storm. Fourth, when we are in the fire, or in the darkest trials, we will not be burned or destroyed. Fifth, and also the reason why we will make it through: because we are precious and honored in our Lord's sight and because He loves us!
Our Lord is sovereign, He is the creator of all things and is in complete control of everything that happens. He is the One who holds our world together. "For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him, all things hold together (Colossians 1: 16-17)." All of the Lord's ways are right, true, just, gracious, compassionate and good so we do not need to fear. God is good regardless of our circumstances. It is important not to let our view of Him get distorted as we go through painful trials. Keep your eyes on Him and as you do, everything around you will seem to fade in the light of His presence. As a follower of Christ, we know that what we see is not all there is. We have a hope that cannot be shaken, a hope that holds us together when our world is falling apart, a hope that reminds us we will rise with our Lord Jesus one day. We will be with Him forever where there will be no more sadness, no more tears, no more sin, no more death and no more heartbreak.
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God (Romans 8: 18-21)."
If you are in a storm right now my friend, you are not alone. If you are not currently in a storm, be prepared because one will come. The definition of a storm is 'a violent disturbance of the atmosphere with strong winds and usually rain.' This same description can be used in relation to storms we go through in life. They can come on all of a sudden, they can cause damage, they can be powerful and even bring fear. Jesus never promised the absence of storms, but promised His presence in the midst of it. "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)."
God is in control of every storm. Nothing happens that does not first pass through His loving hands. God is righteous, He is holy, He is merciful, He is just and He is always, always good. Therefore, everything that happens to you or to me, no matter how difficult and no matter how heart-breaking, God has allowed and will use for our good and His glory. In our hearts we know those words are true, but what about the times in life the pain is so devastating, we don't understand and cannot imagine how on earth it is for our good. We can ask God why, but even if He chose to give us the answer, the hurt would still be in our hearts. God is God alone. We are limited in our thinking. God is so much more than we could ever imagine. We cannot even begin to understand why a loved one is taken too soon, why evil seems to prevail, why relationships end, why someone we love has cancer...the list could go on and on. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55: 8-9)."
While we may not ever understand why certain things happen in our lives, there is one thing we can always be sure of, and that is we can always trust the Lord Jesus. Life is always changing. There are times we are on the mountaintop and times we are in the valley, however, Jesus will never change. He is the one constant we can always depend on. He is faithful and true to His word. Whatever He speaks will come to pass. It is in knowing Him and clinging to Him throughout life that we can go through every storm. Also remember the storm is only temporary. Just as Jesus told His disciples, "let us go to the other side of the lake (Luke 8: 22), we too will go to the other side of our storm. Though the fierce winds rage and the waters grow higher, we will not be overtaken. "But now, this is what the Lord says-He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you O Israel: Fear not for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name, you are Mine. 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. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba are in your stead. Since you are precious and honored in My sight, and because I love you (Isaiah 43: 1-4)." The Lord gives us several wonderful promises in these verses. The first one is for us not to fear because we belong to Him. The next promise is He will be with us. Third, we will pass through the rivers that shall not sweep over us, or in other words, we will make it through the storm. Fourth, when we are in the fire, or in the darkest trials, we will not be burned or destroyed. Fifth, and also the reason why we will make it through: because we are precious and honored in our Lord's sight and because He loves us!
Our Lord is sovereign, He is the creator of all things and is in complete control of everything that happens. He is the One who holds our world together. "For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him, all things hold together (Colossians 1: 16-17)." All of the Lord's ways are right, true, just, gracious, compassionate and good so we do not need to fear. God is good regardless of our circumstances. It is important not to let our view of Him get distorted as we go through painful trials. Keep your eyes on Him and as you do, everything around you will seem to fade in the light of His presence. As a follower of Christ, we know that what we see is not all there is. We have a hope that cannot be shaken, a hope that holds us together when our world is falling apart, a hope that reminds us we will rise with our Lord Jesus one day. We will be with Him forever where there will be no more sadness, no more tears, no more sin, no more death and no more heartbreak.
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God (Romans 8: 18-21)."
Comments
Post a Comment