Kill the Noise نموونە

Not All Storms Come to Disrupt Our Life

In Southern California, we don’t get a lot of rain. When it does come, though, it can come down hard and fast. These are the storms that will slide multi-million-dollar mansions off a cliff and into the ocean. These rains knock out your power or flood your house or ruin concerts and events. Storms can bring the anxiety, stress, and fear.

In life, we will encounter various storms, such as health issues, a relationship breakup, a job loss, business problems, the death of someone close. A storm can be anything that brings anxiety, stress, and fear into your life, anything that shakes up your world. Storms can be rough, even brutal, at times. But not all storms come to disrupt our life: some come to clear our path. With God, there can be meaning above the madness of the crazy time you’re in. Trust His process.

In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, we read about a guy named Joseph. He went to visit his brothers, who were taking care of the family’s sheep. Joseph’s brothers didn’t like him because he was daddy’s youngest and favorite son, so they sold him into slavery. That was crazy, right? He ended up in Egypt serving some rich official. Just when things started going well with Joseph’s new gig, the official’s wife made a move on him. Joseph shut her down but was thrown in jail because she lied about what happened. Finally, while still a prisoner, he was brought before Pharaoh because the ruler needed to know the meaning of one of his dreams; rumor was that Joseph had some abilities in that area. With God’s help, Joseph told Pharaoh the meaning of his dream, and, suddenly, the former slave was made second-in-command for the whole kingdom – just like that. Eventually, he was able to save his family from starving to death in a famine. Joseph’s whole family and tens of thousands of others would have lost their lives. Joseph explained it to his brothers who had betrayed him, saying, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people” (Genesis 50:20).

That’s called having perspective. It’s looking at your situation through what God can do. If you are only looking at what is immediately in front of you, then every second of the storm is going to be exhausting and super stressful. It’ll drag you down and you’ll be discouraged every step of the way. Don’t get me wrong, having perspective is not always easy. Hold on to God’s Word, because that’s how you hear His voice and understand things the right way. It’s the Bible that will help you see what God might be doing, so you can find hope and peace in the midst of the storm.

Fully Committed means trusting God no matter what. Even when life takes a nosedive, you keep your faith in Him knowing that He is with you. When times get bad, people tend to go one of two ways – they either turn toward God or they turn away from Him; they either seek His help and comfort or they give Him blame. Whatever you are going through right now, ask God for the strength to keep your eyes on Him and the perspective to see beyond the pain of the moment. That is what will ensure that you will come out of the storm stronger than you were before and ready to be used by Him.