The Three Storms of Life plus One

The Christian life is not a life free from woes. It is not a life free from troubles, from storms. When we come to Christ He does not promise us a bed of roses. Yet many Christians, who have walked with Him for years, seem genuinely surprised when difficult circumstances come, as though they believe God is going to keep them in an insulated bubble of blessing for the rest of their lives. And when those storms come, they truly lose their bearings and are tossed upon the waves of doubt and despair.

Some believers have been taught that to have such difficulties is a sign of lack of faith. And so they are even more 'lost' in these storms, believing that somehow they have invited the problems and that they deserve them.

The life of a Christian is a life of battles and as one walks with Christ these battles should make us not only stronger, but wiser as to their origination and the necessity of proper response.

As I see it, there are three storms that come into every life, plus one that is designed only for those who live in the last days. These first three storms are:

1.  The storm of your own making. This storm comes into your life as a result of sins and unwise choices made according to the flesh. When your throw a pebble into the pond, the ripples go out and continue for some time. This isn't to say that you are not forgiven. And sometimes God's grace operates in such as way as to even remove the ripples. But many times God wants us to learn from our own actions and although we are forgiven we must learn to walk through the storm that we have created. And as we walk thru it, if we keep our eyes on the Lord, we are given much, much grace. There is no condemnation upon us, because we are in Christ, yet there are lessons to be learned.

2.  The storm that comes from satan. There are many ferocious storms which come to us directly from the hand of our enemy in order to derail our commitment to Christ.  Sometimes we are opposed on every hand. The opposition may be in the form of circumstances, relationship issues, enemies of Christ who persecute, etc. But Jesus is Lord over all storms. He wants us to remember that the anchor holds and that when the waves are threatening to take us under, He is strong enough to keep us not only afloat, but steady and strong.

3.  The storm that comes from the hand of God. This one is kind of tricky, because it may be a combination of the others. It may be a storm of your own making, or it may be from satan, as in the case of Job. Yet nevertheless, nothing comes to you except by permission of the nail-scarred hands of Christ. But this much is for sure. If God directly or indirectly sends a storm your way it is in order that you may be tried and found to be a faithful servant. He desires to burn off the dross and produce gold in your life. When viewed this way, if we pray and ask God to remove storms from our lives, and He does not remove them, then they come by permission of Him and we need to be asking what He wants to teach us in it. Instead of murmuring against others and crying in despair, God wants to show Himself Almighty and Sufficient in your life in these times of deep distress.

And then there is the "plus one". There is a final storm that comes upon the entire world in the latter days. It comes by the hand of God and it includes many trials and tribulations. I believe that we stand on the very precipice of that storm. How you handle the three storms of life may very well determine how you will handle the great one to come. Jeremiah 12:5 says,

“If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you,
Then how can you contend with horses?
And if in the land of peace,
In which you trusted, they wearied you,
Then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?"

Daily we are in the school of the Holy Spirit. Every storm is a classroom. I believe there is divine protection from the final storm, but remember that in Jesus' parable there were wise virgins who had plenty of supply of oil, and there were foolish ones, who let their supply be depleted. Today there are multitudes of believers whose supply is depleted. A little difficulty and they turn from God. They compromise with the world and soon they have no life and no power.

Beloved, I cannot not say to you that I have fully learned to embrace storms as welcome teachers. Nevertheless, I have learned that God wants to teach me something in them. And I have learned to ask Him what it is that He wants to teach. And I have found Him to be faithful so that I can stand.

I will close this time with words to a song I wrote a few years ago. It is about this same theme:

BLUE SKIES AND HURRICANES

Blue skies and hurricanes, Roses and thorns,

Peace in the morning, with afternoon storms.

Always a mystery, I cannot see, when the next dark cloud will come.

Oh, Jesus, there on the waves, I see Your face through the rain,

Hold me, when the hard winds blow, and I will walk on the water once again.

This is my history, "Too late", I say,

"The weathervane's pointing away from the bay".

Caught by adversity, nailed by the wind,

The tide fiercely rising again.

Oh Jesus, there on the waves, I see Your face through the rain,

Hold me, when the hard winds blow, and I will walk on the water once again.