Surviving Spiritual Storms
Seeing God's Perspective in Life's Hardest Seasons
(A view from behind our barn.)
We’re at the mercy of God to make our farm productive. This year He has sent a wide range of weather for us to experience. From massive storms dropping hail and high winds, to fog as thick as pea soup.
Gentle rains and sunny days have graced our fields as well, even though our area faced a fairly serious drought this summer and many of our farming neighbors were negatively affected. While weather apps, forecasts, and looking out the back door give us an expectation of what’s coming our way, bad weather can be a nail-biter.
In the same way, we think we know what lies ahead, but life’s spiritual weather can change in a heartbeat. When it does, we may go from prosperous to penniless, faithful to frazzled, and serene to insane in .02 seconds flat.
Isn’t it true that we expect our lives to just be sunny and 70*? We systematically train our kids, attend church, faithfully study the Bible, and pray for clear skies and gentle breezes. But just like threatening earthly weather patterns, spiritual storms can happen, too. Sometimes we see them brewing and prepare, but most of the colossal storms are pop-ups that cause deep havoc. What was once clear becomes foggy. Confusion mixed with spiritual doubt clouds our minds, while the howling plans of the enemy cause us to lock our doors.
What do we do when life-storms come and usher in the unexpected? How do we navigate seasons where confusion crashes us against the rocks? To steady our hearts, here are three perspectives that will bring clarity to the chaos when life takes to the high seas and sorrow floods our hearts.
1. Delight in the fear of the Lord.
“In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.” Proverbs 14:26 (ESV)
God is All-powerful, All-knowing, and Ever-present. He is incomprehensible love and yet He is also fierce justice, pure holiness, and unwavering Truth. These nail-biting moments where the fog of bitterness, loss, and heartaches set in, prepares our heart to worship God.
We can find refuge in our sovereign God and the space to heal and forgive. He is not only in complete control, but also His will is kind toward us. We can delight in His holiness and stand in awe of the way He works in and through the deepest droughts of the soul to produce an abundant harvest.
We can delight our souls in His victorious presence as we keep our eyes on who He is and what He is able to do, rather than ruminating on the traps of the enemy.
God is able to do the impossible. His ways are higher than ours, yet He chooses to work within the confines of human time and space to make a way for us to flourish.
It is good when we remember He is God and we are not.
2. Welcome the training.
“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11 (ESV)
These words hit deep. Some storms are caused by personal sin, while some are caused by others who have sinned against us. Some storms just happen. Do we welcome the spiritual training or complain on the sidelines?
The enemy is no respecter of persons. Pain is a universal ache regardless of how it arrived at our doorstep.
We live in a broken and sinful world, with broken and sinful people, who do broken and sinful things. Cancer, betrayal, loss, strained relationships, financial disaster, you name it. It’s all hard.
Yet God in His mercy uses it to train, refine, and reveal Himself to us in intimate and practical ways. We can shift our mindset from, “God’s punishing me!” to “God is training my heart to be obedient to His word, for my good and His glory!”.
God’s motive towards us is always love and restoration.
God doesn’t waste our heartaches, He redeems them.
My friend, welcoming the training can change the way we face our trials and cause God’s peace and contentment to settle into our hearts.
3. Purpose in suffering.
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4 (ESV)
What?! Stop the chaos, Sheryl. Am I really supposed to count this all joy?
Our Heavenly Father finds no joy in our suffering, but He does use it to produce faith in us. In turn, it produces steadfastness which is like an anchor in a tempest, and it that we can find peace. James tells us that when we walk through trial after trial it will never be pointless.
We don’t have to be happy about the circumstances of our suffering, but we can find a deeper joy in our Heavenly Father as we come to Him in our suffering.
God isn’t up in heaven with a cosmic flyswatter waiting to smite us. He isn’t disappointed by the mess we’ve made, or the perilousness of our situation. In fact, He enters into our pain as His Holy Spirit comforts, guides, and corrects us.
We learn to identify with Christ in our sufferings. (Romans 8:17-18, Matthew 5:11-12, 1 Peter 4:13, Philippians 3:10)
We can take great delight in the work He is doing in us, while we run to Him as our refuge and strength through prayer. Every awful word that stabs at our heart, every evil deed meant to destroy, and every vile intention is a jewel added to our crown.
“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12 (ESV)
What a delight to lay that bejeweled crown at His feet, hear our Heavenly Father say, “Well, done.” , and know for all eternity that the enemy of our soul is forever silenced.
My friend, as we are being trained in our suffering, let us delight ourselves in a God who loves us unconditionally through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. To God be the glory!
SIMPLE THOUGHT
In what practical ways am I delighting in the Lord this week? What areas of my life is God calling me to surrender?
What specific lies am I believing about my current struggles? What truths of Scripture can I apply to my situation that will help me count it all joy?
PRAYER
Father God, this storm feels like it is destroying everything good in my life. The enemy has ravaged the deepest parts of my soul, and my mind feels empty, powerless, and weak. But today, You sweetly remind me that Your greatest power is made perfect in my weakness. Lord, Your grace is sufficient for even this trial. I’m not abandoned, hopeless, or powerless because Your Spirit is strong in me. Give me an obedient heart that is willing to surrender my rights for your will. You are good in all You do! Thank you for the anchor of Your Word, and the power of the cross. It is my hope and promise. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you are struggling to make sense of the situation you are facing, I wrote a post just for you. Check out “Calming the Storms of Life” for more encouragement!