Into the Stormഉദാഹരണം

Storms

Storms and struggles are an inescapable part of life. From the moment people came on the scene, pain and suffering followed quickly after. Sin, sickness, and death showed up in the garden of Eden, and ever since our world has been plagued by their effects. The resiliency of mankind is continually tested by how we face down storms, both those caused by nature and those caused by our sinful nature. Human history is full of trials, triumphs, and tragedy.

When the storms of life feel as though they are breaking you, and you are struggling to put one foot in front of the other, being told “You can’t possibly understand what is going on” does not diminish your problems or pain. It does not explain away the heartbreak, and it does not ease the impact of the storm. It can, however, help us shift our perspective and come to terms with the fact that there are many, many things in life we will not understand.

In Job 42:1-3, Job realizes how finite his understanding is when he is confronted by an infinite God. Job could not possibly have the right perspective or understanding of what God was doing because he is not God. Fortunately, we do not have to understand everything because we have a God who does.

If our focus is only on our happiness, our ease, or our comfort zones, then when the storms of life take us beyond them, we will be completely disoriented. If we are only concerned with the here and now, then our perspective is far too limited. Once we’re in heaven and look back on our lives, I suspect we will be much more thankful for the valleys than the mountains and for the storms that showed us more of who God is and brought us closer to Him. The great author and theologian C.S. Lewis once said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”*

The heartbreak, suffering, and wrestling in the book of Job show us it is okay for our faith to be messy at times because life is messy. Our path through the storm may not always be straightforward. At times we will push ahead with resolve and determination only to have fear, doubt, or the longevity of it all knock us back. Keep going. Keep praying, even when the words are hard to say. God responds to our prayers—the ones whispered in the dark of night, the ones shouted in anger, the broken ones muttered in between tears, and the ones that end in a question mark.

Hardships will make you better or they will make you worse, but they will not leave you as you are. Storms and suffering demand change; they demand a response. We can try to run from them, or we can square our shoulders and face them head‑on. The only thing we cannot do is try to ignore them or avoid them; opting out is not really an option. We have little control over the different hardships we face in life, but we can control how we respond to them. What will your response be? Will you walk away from God and try to weather the storm alone? Will you wrestle? Will you worship? Take some time to read and study the book of Job for yourself. There are so many relatable moments, challenging thoughts, and words of wisdom in those chapters. Hopefully you will be inspired by them like I have been—to boldly walk into the storm, to draw near to God with real and raw prayers, and to hold more tightly to God than to your questions.

*C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain (San Francisco: HarperOne, 2015), 91.