As believers, people often look at us as if we have it all together. Some see us as people who have no worries and have life all figured out. What most people don't realize is that people who believe and have received Jesus Christ are often faced with life storms. Sometimes these storms can beat us down, makes us question our faith, and put us to the test.
If we don't understand the dynamics of these storms and understand they will come, we can sometimes find ourselves in deep spiritual trouble. As a Christian we are constantly in a battle,
as a human-being we are constantly in a battle.
As a believer we are almost always either getting ready for a storm, in the midst of a storm, or coming out of a storm, yes there are peaceful times and seasons of rest in between but storms are part of the Christian walk, it just comes with the package.
As believers there are 3 basic types of storms.
1. Storms of sin= These are storms we bring upon ourselves when we as believers do things we KNOW we should not do. We knew better, God and the Bible told us not to do it and even our own conscious told us not to do it but we did it anyway. We can't blame God, we can't blame satan, we only have ourselves to blame for bringing on this storm. REPENT, and confess these things to God and start doing right and this storm will pass.
2. Storms that God allows satan to bring upon us. Good example is Mr. Job. In order to show the world that Job truly loved God, He allowed satan to put Job through storms. God wanted to prove to satan that human-beings are made in His image and that His strength is our strength. This might be hard for us to understand but it does happen. God does not do it as a joke, He does it to prove our love for Him so that the eyes of unbelievers will see. How we respond in the midst of a storm says a lot. Sometimes we can blow our testimony in the midst of a storm. When we do blow it, we have to stay in prayer and ask God to grow us and mature us, not for our own sake and reputation but for the sake of unbelievers and believers that are watching us. People will see that when Christians go through storms they will be o.k. because God is with them. It helps us fight mental and spiritual battles that come later. This is why He does it, to strengthen our faith and our armor and to further build our love for Him and to build up our resistance to satan and this world.
3. Storms that God sends us Himself. When God has put things in our heart to accomplish for His Glory or wants us to go somewhere to reach others, often we will be faced with storms. We will face things that at first we feel will be impossible but we must remain faithful and understand God will never give us more than we can handle. This is where our faith comes in, when we may not know exactly how to get through something, we give it all to God. When we say, "Lord, I can't do it alone but I know you are faithful to get me through this", this tells God, we seek His plan and not our own. When we choose our own way, we are basically telling God we can do it without Him and it often leads to failure. But when we let go, we let God show us the perfect way.
All storms will bring suffering and all storms will make us uncomfortable but we when we allow God to get us through it, we realize that it was the best path to take. Sometimes we realize that if we would have chose a different way, the outcome would have be much worse and may even have lead to death.
Everything we do in our lives and in our walk with God has a purpose. It is a cycle, God uses the negative to increase the positive. He uses our storms to help others with their storms and in return we are made stronger.
When we enter the storm without God, we venture into dangerous waters. When we go into something on our own, it can be pleasant at first. BUT know this Believer, when we refuse to let God control the ship, guess who takes the wheel?? There might be soft winds at first, but when the storm comes we find out that we are no longer in control, satan takes control, the world takes control, and our circumstances take control. We risk losing ourselves and we risk becoming spiritually crippled.
Whatever is holding you back in the midst of a storm, you must get rid of it. Whatever you have in the boat that is helping the storm destroy you, you must throw it overboard. Whatever is clouding your vision, get rid of it. Because no matter how clouded your vision might be, God's vision is crystal clear and He sees your trials and He is asking for you to call out to Him so He can take the control back. He will never force Himself on you, He will let you go the way you choose. But when you are face down and finally look up, He will be faithful. He will bring you to calm waters and you will make it through the storm without sinking. And whatever you do, please don't jump ship. Don't die in your faith, don't perish, don't allow your life to return to the way it was before you were saved. Don't run away and take the easy way out, be faithful regardless of how bad the storm looks. Cut the ropes and the life preservers, don't leave anything attached to the boat that could tempt you to escape and take the easy way out. Stay the course, and just as Jesus was in the boat with His disciples during a storm, He is always in the boat with you as well. God will be faithful.
Words of Paul in Acts 27:31
“Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.”
Please take the time to read Acts 27 and see these things come to life.
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