An Uncomplicated Love // God Loves Unconditionally نموونە

Through Any Storm: You in Me. Me in You.

Life can feel so complicated. Because the world is complicated. Because mistakes you make feel complicated. Because decisions and choices, second-guessing and doubt, mark everything with the brand, in bright, capital letters: complicated.

But I am not. I am not complicated. My love for you is not complicated. It is pure, because I am pure. It it for you. And it withstands any loss, any pain, any challenge, any circumstance. Your troubles right now are not going to last. They will fall away. They will shape you, in a positive way, if you let them. Even if they are difficult, challenging, crushing to your heart in this moment, my steadfast love can make the challenges fuel for strengthening you. For you are mine. My son. My daughter. I need to tell you again, you are mine; you are not alone. And my view of your circumstances is so different than your own.

In these present circumstances? Don’t run away, now. Especially when times are tough. Run, yes; but run to Me. It is hard work, going into the deep places of your heart. For the difficult times show you more of my love for you. For when you are raw, vulnerable, you are more open to hearing Me, noticing Me, wanting Me. You are desperate then. And isn’t desperation--for Me--what is best for you? Aren’t I what’s best?

I am not joking (do you recognize it, sometimes, when I joke?), but I want you to be desperate for Me. And while I do not want you to suffer, I will use any circumstance, any opportunity, any hardship, any challenge of your life to show you how I never leave--in the good and the bad. I will show you that my love for you is enough to sustain you, through anything, anything. But you can’t see it, daughter, son, (can you?), until everything else is stripped away.

I wish it wasn’t that way--that you could see Me through the mess of busy, the cacophony of noise that is this world, the idols of work and progress and culture. But I will use this world, in all its mess and beauty, to show you my glory--the glory of Me in you. For when things are hard and nothing else is left, you look for my face and you find it in yours, looking back. I am in you. I want you to see that. I want you to live that. I am in you. I am in you.

I know things can be hard—answers usually don’t come fast enough, and the answers you do receive don’t feel like the right ones. Your heart is heavy from navigating your way through challenges, and you’ve felt alone, isolated from your heart, separated from what is true. And here is where you forget Me. You forget my heart in you.

You in Me. Me in you. 

So relax now. Relax into the truth that you are okay, that your current challenge is an opportunity to see Me work in you. Expect my goodness. Expect my presence. Expect my love. Expect my coming through. Even if you can’t see it yet, you will one day see.

For I always do come through. Just wait. I always come through for you.

Exercise:

What are you going through, my friend? What kind of season is this, for you? Is it one of suffering? One of challenge? How hard is life for you in this present season? And how do you feel? Do you ever feel weary or frustrated or angry? Do you ever wish that something about this season would just go away?

Holy Spirit said, “And while I do not want you to suffer, I will use any circumstance, any opportunity, any hardship, any challenge of your life to show you how I never leave--in the good and the bad. I will show you that my love for you is enough to sustain you, through anything, anything. But you can’t see it, daughter, son, (can you?), until everything else is stripped away.”

How do you receive those words? Can you receive them? Consider how they make you feel. Is it better . . . or worse? Comforted . . . or uncomfortable?

Do they bring hope? Do they bring clarity and perspective or confusion? After hearing them, do you have fewer questions or more? 

In the Bible, James, the brother of Jesus, wrote about how trials can—despite what we think―actually bring reward. While we’re never looking for hardship and suffering . . . for followers of Jesus, there is always a gift hidden within them. So, James wrote, “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.” That is from James chapter one, verses two through four.

To be steadfast means to be “resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering.” That’s why we admire people with steadfast faith. People like that have a faith that is anchored, no matter how stormy circumstances become, no matter how treacherous the seas.

Do you remember the literal storm the disciples faced on the Sea of Galilee in the gospel of Matthew , chapter 14? It was night, and they were in a boat crossing from the eastern shore of what is actually more of a large lake than a sea, coming back toward the western shore.

Hours earlier, Jesus had sent the disciples off without him. He had stayed behind—to spend time with his Father alone, and to pray. But when night fell, wind started to build on the water, and the storm arose. For a long time, the disciples fought, rowing hard against the wind and waves. And they were afraid. But Jesus saw them. He saw them through the dark, through the storm, all the way from a mountain he had climbed. And He went to them. He walked out onto the water. He walked all the way to the boat. And the disciples’ fear then turned to terror when they saw him, because they thought they were seeing a ghost. But Jesus spoke to them, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid.”

Peter, stunned, not really believing what he was seeing, replied, "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water," and Jesus invited Peter to come. Which put Peter in a position where he now had to choose—to trust Jesus or trust the storm. And Peter, being Peter, jumped right out of the boat and began walking on the water toward Jesus.

Come to Me. Walk out to Me, Jesus said. And Peter said yes. He said yes.

But then something changed. One thing changed. And it wasn’t Peter’s circumstances; the storm hadn’t diminished. It was still blowing as strongly as before, and the waves were still churning. What changed was Peter’s focus. He took his eyes off of Jesus; he began to focus on those waves. When he did, he started to sink.

With eyes on Jesus, something unbelievable was happening. Peter was walking on water! With eyes on Jesus, Peter became undrownable. The wind and waves could touch him, but they couldn’t take his life. The storm still had power, but it didn’t have ultimate power. With his focus in the right place, Peter overcame the storm.

But then things changed again. After a few minutes, or probably only a few seconds on the water, things got real. Peter felt the whips of cold wind, the water pelting his face and his arms. He turned his focus to the waves under his feet. And he took his eyes off of Jesus. And then, he was no longer undrownable. And he began to sink. The storm began to overtake him.

And then things changed one more time. In desperation, Peter puts his focus back on Jesus. He calls out to Him, and Jesus reaches out and catches him. And as Jesus and Peter climb into the boat, the storm ceases.

In the midst of our own storms—breaking or broken relationships; health crises, financial crises—we can keep our eyes on Jesus, and He can help us rise above these things. It might not be in the way we’d like, or with the timing we want, but He will help us rise, if we let Him.

Holy Spirit says to us, “I know things can be hard—answers usually don’t come fast enough, and the answers you do receive don’t feel like the right ones. Your heart is heavy from navigating your way through challenges, and you’ve felt alone, isolated from your heart, separated from what is true. And here is where you forget Me. You forget my heart in you.

You in Me. Me in you. 

So relax now. Relax into the truth that you are okay, that your current challenge is an opportunity to see Me work in you. Expect my goodness. Expect my presence. Expect my love. Expect my coming through. Even if you can’t see it yet, you will one day see.

For I always do come through. Just wait. I always come through for you”

So now, I want you to consecrate your imagination to God. (Jesus, we give our imaginations to You.) And now, I want you to picture the storm you are facing. Picture this storm of yours as an actual storm. And picture yourself out in it, right in the middle of it. Picture yourself fighting for survival—just like the disciples were fighting, rowing hard against the wind and the waves.

And now, in the midst of the fight and the chaos, look for Jesus.

Where is He?

Once you’ve found Him, keep your eyes on Him. What’s He doing? What is He asking you to do? How is He inviting you into trust?

Jesus, thank you that You always know what I’m facing. That you always know what I need, even when I don’t. And thank you that You are always willing to come right into the storms of my life. You are wise and powerful. You are kind and fearless. And I can always count on You—no matter what.

And I need You now. I need You in this storm. So, I put my eyes on you now. I trust You. Help me learn to keep my eyes on You, more than I do. Help me learn to trust You more.

Help me trust that You will use this storm, these circumstances, these trials, to teach me, to show me who You are and who I am. Help me trust that You will use this storm for good, that you will use it to produce in me a faith that is steadfast.

In Your powerful name, Amen.