Our lives are like cruising in a ship out on the open ocean. For miles we can have smooth sailing on calm waters with no worries or a care in the world. Then all of a sudden the clouds start rolling in, the waters get a little choppier, and the skies darken. This is our warning of an impending storm. This is the time to prepare ourselves to ride out the storm that is coming the best we possibly can. The storm hits and it rocks us back and forth and at times we don’t know if we will survive. The seas eventually calm down and we do survive the storm. Our reality though, is another storm is on the horizon, we just may not see it coming yet.
When we can see the storms of life coming at us we have time to prepare ourselves and lessen the impact of the storm. The storms we don’t see coming are the most difficult ones to endure. When we don’t have time to prepare and the storm is unexpected we start asking the question, Why? Why God have you let this happen to me? Why am I suffering? Why am I hurting? These questions are most often asked. It’s our human nature to want the answer, we have to know why. It’s as if that answer will make things better.
Day 12 of Pastor Rick Warren’s “Uncommon Courage” devotional talked about this subject. The devotional focused on the life of Job. If you don’t know about Job I suggest you take some time to read the book of Job in the Old Testament. Job was a man who had it all and then it was suddenly taken all away from him. He was riding calmly on the ocean of life when the storm came upon him. Family, riches, property, etc. all of this was stripped away from him. Job 6:2-3 (NLT) gives an example of Job’s suffering from the mouth of Job, “If my misery could be weighed and my troubles be put on scales, they would outweigh all the sands of the sea..”
You talk about a tough situation. When I read about the story of Job and look at my life, none of the problems I’ve faced seem so big. If anyone had the right to ask God why, it was Job. And Job did start questioning God and asking why he was going through this horrific storm. Did God give him the answers he was looking for? No he didn’t. What God did was turn the questions around on Job to show him who he was questioning. When Job could not answer the questions because only God in his infinite wisdom could, immediately he was humbled. Job understood he was just a man and could not possibly understand God’s ways. How could he possibly question God in this storm.
This is the same thing we must remember when the storms of life come upon us and we want to know why. And there are a few lessons we can learn from Job when going through the storms in our lives.
First, when the storms rage and we don’t know why change the focus from the storm to our God. Remember those times when the seas were calm and you were cruising along in life. God was there directing the path of your ship in the calm seas and he’s still with you right now through the storms. Job had to realize this as he went through his storm. The key is to reflect on the times God pulled you through and understand He can and will do it again. Praise Him for all He’s done for you and thank Him for all He’s going to do for you in this storm. In our struggles we are too quick at times to forget what has been done for us in the past. Isaiah 46:9 (NLT) says it all, “Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God, I am God, and there is none like me.”
Second, now that we’ve reflected on what God has done for us in the past we have to trust God. That trust is built off of what we know He’s done for us in the past. During the tough times in my life the first place I want to turn is to God. It wasn’t always that way for me but as I grew in my relationship with Christ, I grew in my understanding of His love for me. I trust in Him to pull me through because He’s done it for me already. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was the ultimate expression of His love for me and His desire for my life to be so much more. If He willingly died on the cross for me, why would He not guide me through the storms in my life.
I know many of you are going through tremendous storms in your lives right now. The keys for you to remember are to focus on the ways God has pulled you through in the past and trust that He will pull you through again. Reflect on Psalms 37:5 (NLT) which says, “Commit everything you do to the lord. Trust him, and he will help you.”
Truth in Love! ~ Chuck