Hurricanes are intense storms that can bring tremendous destruction. These devastating storms are marked by damaging winds, heavy rain, and dangerous storm surges that cause flooding, trees to be pulled up from their roots, cars and houses to be obliterated, and death to people and animals.
Every year, we have a hurricane season that lasts from June 1st through November 30th, with the peak of activity in September. These storms are tracked, they are given names, and we are forewarned about their arrival and intensity. But what about those storms we don’t see coming? What about the ones that slam into us at full strength without any warning at all? You know, like the unexpected, distressing medical diagnosis, the miscarriage, your spouse asking for a divorce, loss of a job, or sudden death of a loved one. How do we prepare in advance for what we don’t even know is coming?
As followers of Christ, we must be in daily preparation for the storms of life. We do not wait for a storm to hit to shore up our faith. We cannot wait for trouble to come knocking at our door to cry out to God to save us. We can absolutely cry out for help in our troubles because we know God is our refuge and our strength and an ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1). However, we must lay the foundation beforehand. We must shore up our faith in everyday, mundane, calm, and uneventful moments. We are called to a life of seeking, abiding, worshipping, confiding, confessing, and standing.
We know that storms are a part of everyone’s life. No one is immune. Jesus said that God sends rain on the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45). He also told us that in this world we will have trouble. Still, we must remember to take heart because He has overcome the world (John 16:33). There is our warning: You WILL have trouble. However, the encouragement that directly follows is where we draw our strength. Because Jesus overcame the world, conquered death, sin, and the grave, we are overcomers, more than conquerors in Him! We have an eternal hope to carry us through this life. We must seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, abide in Jesus, worship Him above all else, confide our hopes and fears, confess our sins, and stand firm in our faith. Spending devoted time seeking God’s presence daily prepares us for any storm we may face. Storms will come and go, but God is our Rock, our firm foundation, and when we fully trust Him, we are not shaken.
Hurricane season comes every year, and with it, many storms pass through, causing anxiety and devastation with an aftermath of suffering, grief, and distress. Sometimes in life, we, too, find ourselves facing one storm after another with barely enough time to catch our breath. We feel like it may never stop, and where is God in all this? He is there. Yes, right there with you amid the most harrowing storms. Just like Jesus was with the disciples sleeping peacefully on the boat during a treacherous storm, He is with us now and always.
A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down, and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Mark 4:37-40
Sometimes, God will still the storm. However, many times He will still us right in the middle of the storm. It is in these times that we must draw nearer to Him as He continues to strengthen our faith. Notice I said, “continues to strengthen” our faith. Remember, we have already built our faith on our solid Rock in our everyday abiding. We don’t wait for the storm to rage before building the firm foundation in our Lord and Savior. Our faith is continually growing more resilient with every storm, just as Gina and Erica discussed in Season 9: Episode 9 of the Covenant Conversations Podcast.
I don’t know what storm you’re in or maybe you’ve just come through one. Quite possibly there is one on the way. What I do know, is though we may be fearful like the disciples in the boat with Jesus, the storm is never a surprise to God, and we are not alone. We will trust God, remembering how He has brought us through every storm we’ve encountered in the past, and our faith will not waver. We will stand on His promises and persevere.
(Hebrews 10:35-36, NIV) So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.
