Storms Will Come.
Rain will fall.
Today I want to run from it and hide in my home and just wait and watch it come and go.
I want to escape the pain of the ugly mix of wind, rain, and lightning.
Sometimes we find ourselves watching a dark storm coming and other times we are in the midst of it before we even have time to prepare. Then there are the times that no matter what you do it is inevitable to not be caught in the fierceness around you.
One minute it is clear and the next you can’t see right in front of you.
There is something that knows the benefits from the effects of the wind and harsh conditions and is steadfast even the more from it?
Trees
Tall, strong, and healthy Trees know the importance of the sky going dark and the wind picking up into a fist of a rainy mess.
Trees find their strength in the large gust of the wind that occurs in storms. Without a good storm in the trees life, it would not know how strong it needed to be and how deep the roots needed to go to sustain the growth and fruit of the tree.
It only goes deeper when the resistance of the wind pushes on the tree.
I do love to snuggle under a blanket and watch and wait for a storm to go to its next town. The storms that I want to run from are the ones that do damage. The ones that tear apart and leave the landscape forever changed. Those storms, those are the ones we naturally run from or want to hide from but inevitably they come and go and leave behind a heartbreaking mess that may never be as it was before.
The storms that I want to run from are the ones that do damage. The ones that tear apart and leave the landscape forever changed. Those storms, those are the ones we naturally run from or want to hide from but inevitably they come and go and leave behind a heartbreaking mess that may never be as it was before.
Almost a year ago we sat and watched the rain and waters rise in our small town and I watched as it flooded the once enjoyable landscape. This I would not have chosen for anyone and it has been a long road to restoring.
Even though stores are open and yards are cleaned up and houses are becoming homes again, If you take the time to look closely you can still see water lines and damage that will forever be now a part of the landscape.
Sometimes I didn’t ask for the “harsh winds” and damage left behind.
I didn’t walk into the wind of an abusive alcoholic mother, the harsh rain of the rejection of a father, Or the sting of a disappointed friend walking away instead of staying close.
In many of life’s difficulties, you choose to become stronger or tumble into bitter despair. At times I could have done both. At times I could still do both.
By God’s grace, we can choose to go deep. Go find shelter in the One who sustains in the most uncertain times.
Would I have avoided those scary times if I could have? Yes
But I am stronger for what I salvaged from the hurricanes and allowed to be restored. And weaker in other areas, areas that the next storm will reveal the damage unseen but still exist if you look closely.
Life is really hard sometimes and there is nothing you can do about it.
You can’t fix your best friends marriage or heal your baby sister from addiction. All of these make you want to lay down in despair if you can’t find strength.
We all have difficulties in life and we all find ourselves in the middle of unexpected raging seas, the tree knows they are necessary for growth.
Storms will come and we will have to dig deep to find a real strength.
In this strength ushers in Courage and out of much courage comes confidence not in ourselves but in our deep roots that sustain us.
This confidence will look foolish to the ones that have not had many storms come their way, or those that live in denial of any existing of harsh weather.
But stand bold and steadfast you never know who might need to find shade in our tall branches.
I so want to be like the tree and be firmly rooted and steadfast, unmovable and unwavering, and yet I feel as if the next breeze will snap me in two.
We are prone to weakness, a weakness that our anger or hurt can justify our ungodly actions.
But it doesn’t and Jesus is the example to which we gain that we have been made new and redeemed for a great work, a perseverance that brings about righteousness.
So I will embrace the wind and rain and maybe bend a little and a limb my break. And it will hurt badly. But it is in my strong roots, roots that are connected to the source that is known for taking the broken and bringing beauty. Only the Lord can redeem what seems broken and make it into something good. A strength not our own in our weakest times.
~2 Corinthians 4:8
For I will remember this too shall pass and I will Seek Him and see His goodness.
Psalm 27 has been a rock to hold onto in my most fierce winds.
“…. I would have despaired unless…”
What do you hold onto in the winds and rains?
The storm that Jesus prayed would pass brought forgiveness and reconciliation to all who believe. Jesus not only knows our suffering but also knows that it will bring about glory and honor to the Father. It may bring others to see Jesus as who He is.
Matthew 26-28
“Good theology is essential if we are going to suffer well. It will help us persevere during our trials, and it will give us hope. We believe that ‘Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning’ (Ps. 30:5). It is faith in our good and sovereign God that enables us to wait until the morning. “But we must never forget that often the night is long and the weeping uncontrollable. No amount of good theology is able to take the pain out of suffering. Too often we allow ourselves to believe that a robust view of God’s sovereignty in all things means that when suffering comes it won’t hurt. God’s sovereignty doesn’t take away the pain and evil that confront us in our lives; it works them for our good.
“The pain of suffering is both dark and deep. This is crucial to see, for when we minimize the pain we fail to love others and we fail to honor God. When we minimize the pain of suffering, we can no longer understand the apostle Paul, who said, ‘For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison’ (2 Cor. 4:17). There is nothing astounding about such a statement if Paul is speaking about hangnails, stubbed toes, and his favorite shirt getting stained. . . .
“So it is good for us to delve into the depths of our pain in suffering, for in so doing we will be teaching ourselves the far greater value of the eternal weight of glory.”
John Piper and contributors of Suffering and Sovernity of God