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Raging Storms


A few years ago, I took this picture minutes after a severe rain storm. The sky was ashen and the air went frigid. As my family and I were driving in this storm, we could hardly see the road ahead of us, the rain drops pounding relentlessly on the windshield.


Many cars pulled over, giving up on their journey, surrendering to the power of the storm. But we stayed.


With my dad cautiously driving us along, my mom silently praying for our safety, and me in the backseat singing worship songs, we entered the storm. One song that God put on my heart during that event was "Eye of the Storm" by Ryan Stevenson, and it got me thinking...


In the midst of a raging storm, many people pray for God to STOP the storm.


And that makes sense, right? No one wants to be challenged and uncomfortable, feeling powerless as the winds roar. Storms are scary, our trials are scary. We hate feeling small, hate feeling powerless and weak.


So we try to ignore the storm, and when that doesn't work, we try to defeat the storm ourselves. But inevitably, our weakness and fallibility tears us down, and the storm rages on. In our desperation and resignation, we plea with the One who is greater than us. We beg God to take away the storm, to vanquish the pain.


Sometimes He may rid you of your storm. But more often than not, He doesn't take the storm away. Why, God, why?!


What we don't realize, though, is that our Abba has a holy purpose for the horrific storms we face.


As 1 Peter 1:6-7 states "In [hardships] you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These [trials] have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith... may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed".


God allows storms to come our way, not to harm us but because we are refined by them. Trials produce perseverance and character and solidify our hope in the Lord (Romans 5:3-4). Even though storms can be miserable, we need them.


So instead of wanting the storm to stop, we need to pray for God to get us THROUGH the storm!


Whatever hardships and challenges we go through, we can trust that they are for a purpose greater than we know. Our Lord does not allow storms in our paths to hurt us, but instead to teach us and gift us with His guidance. In our pain, we are reminded of our weakness and of His strength; our storms draw us to our great Shepherd.


Our God is our compass through our journeys. And when the storm distorts the path in front of us, He gives us assurance, determination, and peace of heart.


We know He has a destination waiting for us free of the messiness of our storms. Just like this photo shows, the storm will not last forever. Our pain is temporary, and God has a purpose for it. So we trust in Him because "through the eye of the storm [He remains] in control" (Ryan Stevenson).


Our Great Jesus is our guide, the One that gets us through the storm. While we may want to quit the journey, He sees past the trials and into the beauty of victory, and we can lean on Him when the storms rage on.


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Becoming Beloved

Hi friends! I wanted to share an article I wrote a few weeks ago. I hope God encourages you through it!

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