If you’re in one, I hope you see Him trying to ride it out with you because you will not arrive on the other side the same. You cannot. Survivors never do. If they’re inevitable, I don’t want to go through one alone. I have before. It’s not the same without Him. The changes that storms cause, are irreversible, but when He’s there, they are beautifully meaningful and so it’s good that they are permanent. If you can remember this when the weather changes and you begin to realize one is coming, you will know to make Him your Shelter and your Strength. It all sounds so pat and religiously easy. It’s not. Seriously, if there’s any way I can go around them, that’s what I’m going to attempt. But forewarning is not a guaranteed characteristic of every storm, so you may not even notice until it’s full on. That’s happened to me and in my human mode, I’m trying to power up internally. It’s not always enough and you get exhausted. If you have people in your corner, they’ll come through, but I’m telling you, it is still not sufficient without God because what He does is so off the chart in those times that you can believe and have peace in the very eye of the storm. Phil 4:5-7 This faith is not based on the hope that He will subdue it, though, that can happen. No, it’s a trust that makes zero sense from a logical standpoint, but it’s rooted in the Love He has for me. I’m convinced regardless of how bad it looks because I know that the storm cannot destroy me if He is there. I’m going to pass through and who I am when I get to the end, will be a better version of me, because He loves me.
“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.” James 1:2-8. TM
Isaiah 25:4-5 “For You have been a strong-place for those who could not help themselves and for those in need because of much trouble. You have been a safe place from the storm”
“You are strong, Lord, and always faithful. You rule the stormy sea. You can calm its angry waves.” Psalm 89:9
Love Always