How To Survive Life's Storms | What the Bible Has To Say About Storms
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Hello lovely!
There is a storm blowing in right now as I am writing this. The clouds have gone all dark and gray and there’s a quietness in the air. Here is a random fact about me. I love storms!
Thunderstorms just quiet my soul and remind me of the power that our God possesses. Scripture tells us there this crazy lightning & thunderstorm display happening around His thrown. I love that. Storms make me think of Heaven.
Now I know storms can quickly become scary. They can go from your average thunderstorm to something very destructive very quickly. These types of storms remind me of life. Life is full of ups and downs. There are moments where being joyful is so effortless it just pours from us. Then there are times where we find ourselves in a stormy season. Thankfully the Bible has a lot to say about storms.
Jesus Is Victorious and Our Enemy Is Defeated
Jesus warned us in John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (ESV) Tribulation is defined as a pressing, anguish, distress, or trouble. Trouble is coming. As long as we walk this earth, we will have moments of pressing.
But don’t miss out on what the warning is sandwiched between!! Jesus wants us to have peace regardless of what's happening around us. He's given us peace. Peace is available, and He tells us how we get that peace.
It’s in Him. He warns us trouble is coming but then He says, “Take heart! I have overcome the world!” Jesus has overcome the world. He has defeated our enemy.
Lately, I have been stuck in Colossians. I specifically love Colossians 2:9-15 which says,
“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”
He has defeated death and the grave. Not only that but He went a step further when He put them to open shame. He won and because He won we are also victorious in Him. Because of the victory, life isn’t scary anymore. Difficult and tragic things may happen but we always know to whom we belong and so we always have hope.
SOMETIMES LIFE IS ROUGH. STAY ENCOURAGED.
God’s word changes things and it helps us hold onto hope when life gets challenging. Our Verses & Prayers For Strength In Hard Times Cards will help you keep God’s truth in front of you. Get them for free for a limited time.
You Have The Faith To Endure This
In John 16:33 Jesus says “take heart.” That is a command. It means “be of good courage.” My husband, Mike, told me once that everyone has the same number of muscles. That may seem obvious to you but it caught me off guard. By the looks of some people, they seem a little more “blessed” (…or medicated) in the muscle department.
The truth is though that we all have the same number of muscles but some people just spend more time exercising and strengthening theirs. Here’s another fact for you: we all have the same amount of faith.
Faith is listed in Galatians as an element of the fruit of the Spirit. You either have it or you don’t. If you are a born again child of God you have faith! It may not be as big and impressive as some other peoples but that is because they exercise theirs more than you or they've been at it longer than you.
When storms come it’s time to start exercising that faith! How you ask? Well:
You start reminding yourself of how faithful God has been throughout your life.
You choose to believe that wind and waves still obey Him.
You position yourself to rest in the truth that He will see you through this season as well.
You begin to open up your mouth to speak life and truth over yourself and your circumstances.
Expect Help By Being Helpable
I do not like water. I am not a very good swimmer and I am a bit of a control freak so large bodies of water and I just don’t jive. Imagining how I would behave if drowning leads me to believe that drowning people are probably hard to save. At least ones like me.
Imagine falling into crazy water and you can't swim so you’re just thrashing around because you are understandably in total panic mode. Now imagine you're a great swimmer and you see this person. You swim over to help them but rather than accepting your help and chilling out they keep thrashing. You take an elbow to the face and some water in the windpipe.
What a mess. You can probably still save them but it is going to take a lot more time and energy with them fighting against you.
When life throws you challenges and crisis, you have to resist the urge to panic and fall apart. God promises He won’t let us be overtaken but that requires us to trust Him and let Him work.
1 Corinthians 15:58 says,
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
Stand firm! Remember who God is! Remember that clouds may make the sun hard to see but it is still shining. Remember that God is a safe place and that He invites us to come running to Him regardless of what is chasing us! I wrote a whole thing on that fact called How To Trust God More. Make sure to check that out!
You Can Rest In The Storm
Lastly, my favorite storm related Bible story. Mark 4:35-41 tells this paraphrased story. Jesus tells His disciples they are going to cross over the lake. Once in the boat a terrible storm blows in. This sotrm is so bad it terrifies these experienced fishermen.
They are so scared they go and find Jesus who was napping in the bottom of the boat and they cry out "do you even care that we are parishing out here?!"
That's what we all want to know right? When life become challenging and we aren't sure how much more we can bear, our hearts really just want to know the answer to that same question. "God, do you even care?"
Jesus' answer in verse 30 & 40 was this:
"And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?'"
His answer is a yes. Bill Johnson says "a storm you can sleep through is a storm you have authority over." Jesus said they were going to the other side and He knew that was the only option.
Regardless of what rages around you today know that there is rest for you even in the middle of the storm. Jesus is with you and He will see you through to the other side.
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