Storms.
They are a natural part of life.
Literal storms that come through our country, state, city, neighborhood and disrupt our way of living. Whether it’s rain, snow, tornadoes, or hurricanes; storms are inevitable.
And the same is true for the storms that we face in our spiritual and recovery walks. They are unavoidable. And the thing with those spiritual storms is that we are either currently in a storm, just coming out of a storm or we are about to be heading into a storm. No matter which category you currently fit in,
It’s easy for us to think that the storms of life are a indicator of our spiritual walk.
“I’ve sinned, so here comes this storm as punishment”
Don’t lie, you know you have had that thought at least once in your life. We think the storm is a reflection of our failings.
“I’ve strayed away from Jesus, and that’s why I’m in this storm!”
“This is punishment for my sin!”
Have you ever thought this way?
I have and it’s inaccurate and it’s a misunderstanding of God’s character to think this way.
Isaiah 45:7 tells us specifically:
“I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things.”
The good things and the bad things come from God. All your success and blessings are from Him. But so is the failures, the sickness, that house fire, that depression. Your walk with God does not make you immune to these storms.
It’s easy to think His presence in our lives should keep us out of the storm and when we do go through that storm we must be living outside of his will. And while that is so easy for us to believe, it’s not biblical. When we look at Luke 8:22, the disciples find themselves in the midst of a pretty bad storm. It was so bad that they were in fear of their lives. Professional fishermen who lived out on the water, were scared of this storm!
But it says :
“22 One day he and his disciples got intoa boat, and he told them,
"Let's cross over to the other side of the lake."
So they set out, 23 and as they were sailing he fell asleep.
Then a fierce windstorm came down on the lake;
they were being swamped and were in danger.
24 They came and woke him up, saying,
"Master, Master, we're going to die!"
Then he got up and rebuked the
wind and the raging waves. So they
ceased, and there was a calm,
25 He said to them,
"Where is your faith?"
They were fearful and amazed,
asking one another, "Who then is this?
He commands even the winds and the
waves, and they obey him!"
The disciples were following Jesus’ command, obeying and living in his will. He was even in the same boat as they were and they still went through a storm that struck fear into their lives. They were not acting out in disobedience. They were not outside God’s will. They weren’t being punished for their sin. That’s because God will send storms into our lives to refine us and to deepen our faith and our dependence on Him.
The storms are not a bad thing. Storms in our recovery can help us in the area of surrender in the early stages of the program. Those storms can also prepare us for our purpose and when we realize that, then we can own our storm, and start living in our purpose to help others.
Don’t take on a posture of fear, but rather embrace those storms of life.
