storms
for the past 18 years, i have lived in southern california and (mary, the girls and I) have become very fond of the amazing weather that we have here. but, the first 8 years of my life i lived in michigan and wisconsin (with serious snowstorms and long winters) - 2 places with climates much different that socal. the next 10 years of my life i lived in tulsa, ok - a place that had some pretty crazy weather (thunderstorms / hail / tornadoes / floods / ice storms / plus unbearable humidity in the summers). i also spent a year in sweden (and relied on public transportation) - it was so cold and so dark - i literally had to fight off depression for the first time in my life. the average amount of sunshine per day for the majority of the time while i lived there was only 2 hours - a massive change from coming from california. we also experienced 2 blizzards in 1989 and had 5 months of the average temperature less than -2 degrees celcius.
ok, enough about all the tough weather i had to deal with as a kid (or as a bible school student). we all have been through natural storms, but i want to share a few thoughts about the most intense storms we face - the storms of life - when pressures, problems, negative circumstances hit us and we experience pain, defeat and failure - the storms we hate to be in.
if your life is anything like mine…. then you you have either just come out of a storm… or you are in the middle of a storm… or a storm will be coming your way soon. i realize that sounds pretty negative, but i believe it - this is reality.
so here are some facts about storms that will (hopefully) encourage you:
- storms are INEVITABLE - they are going to happen, so don’t be surprised when they do. Jesus said, “in this world you will have trouble…” there will be times of frustration, fatigue, suffering, sorrow, discouragement, despair - it is part of life - storms will blow in and try to blow you away.
- storms are UNPREDICTABLE - they always seem to happen at the worst time (kinda like a flat tire). they just happen - usually when you’re totally unprepared and when it’s most inconvenient. it would be awesome if we could schedule a storm so we had plenty of time to prepare and gear up for it. this summer we took the family to southern utah and stayed at a ranch. all 4 days we were there it rained for a little bit, but the cool thing was that we could see the storm coming. we were at a vantage point where you could see for 20 miles or so and we literally saw the ominous clouds coming and the distant lighting flashing - and we could easily get inside and ovoid the downpour. it would be nice if this happened in life, but it doesn’t - storms just happen and we have no way of predicting when they show up.
- storms are IMPARTIAL - they hit all of us, no one lives life insulated from suffering, pressure or challenges. everybody gets hit with stormy weather. the bible is crystal clear that “it rains on the just and the unjust alike”. Jesus said good people and bad people all experience difficult times. usually our first response to a storm is “why me?”, maybe we should start saying “why not me?” i’ve realized that i’m not immune to all the problems that happen in this world, i’m going to experience tragedy, loss and pain - it doesn’t mean i’m bad - it just means that i’m human!
- storms are TEMPORARY - thank God that storms don’t last forever - they stop. in 1984 our family had almost 5 feet of water flood into our house and through a freak accident the flood also caused a fire to burn up our garage and my older brothers first car (i realize this sounds crazy… a large gas can was tipped over by the rising flood waters, the gas floated on the top of the water and ignited when it hit the pilot light on the water heater - and caused a raging fire). our family went through a horrific tragedy that day, but it was short-lived and within a few weeks everything was back to normal. 2 corinthians 4:17 says, “our troubles are short-lived and their outcome is an eternal glory that outweighs them all.”
- storms are PURPOSEFUL - 1 peter 1:6-7 says, “at the present you may be temporarily harassed by all kinds of trials. this is no accident - it happens to prove your faith. never forget that God is in the storm with you - He will never leave you, never forsake you - He is the ever-present help in times of trouble (psalm 46:1) - and as the storm rages - He is healing, He is cleansing, He is building, He has a purpose behind it. just like when Jesus experienced suffering, tragedy, hurt, pain, criticism, discouraging news, loneliness - God was building Him up, preparing Him to be able to weather greater storms. God is way more interested in our character than in our comfort. the storms we face and endure build a depth of faith and character into us that could not get there any other way.